The Cottage in the Woods
-
- 5,49 €
-
- 5,49 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
For fans of Shannon Hale, Adam Gidwitz, and Michael Buckley comes a luminous new twist on a tale readers only thought they knew. . .
Once upon a time, there was a girl with golden locks. But that’s just the beginning of this tale. The real story begins with a bear.
Ursula is a young she-bear who has come to work as a governess at the Vaughn estate. Although she is eager to instruct her young charge, Teddy, she is also frightened, especially when inexplicable things happen in the huge house after dark. Ursula is sure she has heard footsteps in the hallways at night, and that something is following her during her walks in the Enchanted Forest. Then there is Mr. Bentley, a young bear also employed by Mr. Vaughn, whose superior disposition is enough to drive Ursula to tears . . . and yet why does he also make her heart race? As Ursula works to unravel the mysteries of the Vaughn manor, she will have to be very, very careful. After all, true love, justice, and a girl with golden locks are at stake. And in the Enchanted Forest, not every fairy tale is destined for a happily ever after.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Coville's clever, heartwarming fantasy initially seems to be an anthropomorphic version of an English gothic romance, la Jane Eyre or Rebecca, with echoes of Jane Austen. But the story of Ursula, a young bear who arrives at an English estate to serve as governess, soon segues into fairy-tale lore. In the Enchanted Forest surrounding the estate, some animals are enchanted (able to speak and behave as humans) and some not; some humans are friendly and accepting of them, while others are less so. Expected plot developments love interests, strange footsteps following Ursula down the mansion's dark hallways occur, but the developing hostilities between different populations give the story a more serious framework. What to make, though, of the silent blond girl in a bear suit? Then there's the especially nasty old woman who lives in a shoe, homeless Bremen Town Musicians, and a revelation as to the fate of one of the Pied Piper's followers. Artist Coville, in her debut, fuses classic English mystery elements with fractured fairy tales amid questions of prejudice, with droll, satisfying results. Ages 10 up.
