This book has the most unique take on the faerie gifts I’ve seen in a “Sleeping Beauty” retelling.
While there are multiple romantic relationships, the relationships between these sets of sisters are the source of the major plot points. We also see the sibling relationship between the main antagonist, Malfleur, and her sister, Belcoeur. Instead of focusing on a single princess, we have two sisters as our protagonists: Aurora, who is our Sleeping Beauty, and her half-sister Isabelle, called Isbe. However, Hillyer does include many embellishments and deviations right from the start. Hillyer chooses not to utilize this plot point and focuses her novel on the familiar and famous part of the story. Earlier versions of the tale, such as Giambattista Basile’s “Sun, Moon, and Talia” and Charles Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty in the Woods,” include a frankly more interesting second half involving the prince’s first wife or mother attempting to murder and eat Talia/Sleeping Beauty and her children.
Hillyer draws from the more well-known Grimm version of the tale called “Little Briar-Rose,” which ends with the prince waking Sleeping Beauty. So let’s jump right in! My Rating: 2 stars Warning: Contains spoilers As a Retelling: Welcome back to Fairy Tale Friday! Today we’re looking at the first “Sleeping Beauty” retelling of this feature.
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