All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother

By Danielle Teller

In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s "evil" stepmother.

We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?

As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. . . .

A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude at the manor she thought she had left behind. Her new position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone’s unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals that nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on many guises.

Lyrically told, emotionally evocative, and brilliantly perceptive, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, all the while showing us that how we confront adversity reveals a more profound, and ultimately more important, truth than the ideal of "happily ever after."

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062798084

Danielle Teller

Danielle Teller received her medical training at McGill University, Brown University, and Yale University. She has held faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University. In 2013, Danielle pursued her childhood dream of being a writer. She is the author of one book of nonfiction, Sacred Cows: The Truth About Divorce and Marriage, and has written numerous columns for Quartz. She lives with her husband, Astro Teller, and their four children in Palo Alto, California. All the Ever Afters is her first novel.

Book preview

Prologue

The Royal Court

Suppers at the royal court have become entirely too oppressive. It isn’t just that they are interminable, or that we must adhere to the newest fashions, the face powder, our hair tortured into great bejeweled rams’ horns, the silks with sleeves so tight that it’s impossible to raise one’s spoon to one’s carefully tinctured lips— No, the worst is the gossip, the sinister buzz of wasps ready to slip their poisonous stingers into whatever tender flesh lies exposed.

This evening I was ordered to sit next to the Earl of Bryston, a pompous halfwit who has rarely been to court. He presides over some godforsaken swamp in the north, and he seems to believe that his family’s long history of loyalty to the crown gives him the right to opine on the behaviors of the royal family.

My lady, he said, plucking at cuffs so voluminous that they draped into his soup, I understand that your noble daughters are not yet wed?

No, my lord, I answered as briefly as courtesy would allow.

And yet, I have heard that they once vied for the attention of Prince Henry himself? The earl dabbed his crimson lips daintily. That they tried to alienate his affection from Princess Elfilda?

You seem amused, my lord. He could not have mistaken the coldness in my response. I fear that much of what you have heard is not true.

Ah, well, it is an incredible tale! He smiled broadly. The beautiful downtrodden maiden who ascends to the royal palace, the jealous stepsisters, the glass slipper that would not fit . . .

My lord, I cannot credit such a tale.

Come, my lady! You know that the whole kingdom is enthralled by our radiant and benevolent princess! I have heard a great deal about you and your daughters. He looked at me knowingly.

Compelling fiction often obscures the humble truth.

I do hope that you will tell me about the slipper, he said, ignoring my reluctance. He broke a piece of bread, leaving a trail of crumbs across the table. My wife is frantic to know the particulars! They say that the prince let every maiden try the shoe, even your daughters! He laughed.

It is droll to imagine them receiving attention from a prince?

Well . . . His shrug was eloquent.

They are ugly, and Elfilda is beautiful.

The earl frowned and pursed his lips. It is genteel to imply nasty insults, not to speak them directly.

My lord, I may have heard some of the rumors to which you allude. To my mind, these stories insinuate a plague of blindness. Prince Henry would have to be blind not to recognize the object of his admiration or to distinguish an ugly girl from one of unsurpassed beauty. My daughters would need to be blind to their reflections in mirrors and on the faces of those who behold them— My voice rose, so I paused and began again blandly. They would also need to be blind to the truth that men persuade themselves that beautiful women possess virtue and good character, whereas no amount of virtue can make an ugly woman beautiful.

My lady, Princess Elfilda is a dazzling star who shines in the royal firmament, where she belongs. He did not attempt to conceal his disdain. That she invites you and your daughters to dine here at the palace is a testament to her compassion, forgiveness, and generosity.

Indeed, my lord, I murmured. Indeed that is so.

I am only of interest to the Earl of Bryston and his ilk because of my stepdaughter. Princess Elfilda is the most celebrated woman in the kingdom, perhaps in all of history. Commoners line the streets for endless hours, even in dark and sleet, hoping to glimpse her face through the window of her gilded carriage. When the princess has her gown cut in a new way or adopts a different hairstyle, every female creature in the city imitates her appearance. Last autumn she wore a choker of pearls to church on Michaelmas, and the next day every noblewoman’s throat was wound snugly with pearls or other jewels. By Christmastide even the peasant girls wore chokers of beads or ribbon, whatever material they could find to replicate the fashion.

Princess Elfilda’s popularity derives in large part from her astonishing beauty, but there is something else about her nature that attracts the masses. Her habitual muteness and the gentle hesitancy of those rare words that do fall from her lips make her seem bashful, as does her manner of ducking her head and looking up through sweeping lashes. Apart from her collections of baubles and kennel of favorite dogs, she appears to have no passions or vices, and when she attends royal functions, her gaze drifts to invisible spectacles that only she can apprehend. Her elusive character is a blank parchment upon which any story may be written, and every girl who dreams of becoming a princess can imagine herself in Princess Elfilda’s famously tiny shoes.

I know more of the princess’s history than anyone else alive, and the true tale is not as fantastical as the one sung by troubadours. Nobody is interested in the story of a flesh-and-blood nobleman’s daughter, one who wet her bed, complained of boredom, fought with her kin, and turned up her nose at winter greens just like any mortal child. Nor do I have any desire to diminish the adulation for the princess, which makes both the admiring and admired so content.

I do not set out to write the princess’s history, but my own, the only tale I have the authority to tell. My quill may resurrect ghosts to keep me company during the long days at the castle, and if it cannot, at least my mind will be occupied and my hands busy. As for fables about good and evil and songs about glass slippers, I shall leave those to the minstrels. They can invent their own tales about Cinderella.

1

The Manor House

I hardly remember my own mother. I have a memory of arms surrounding me and pushing my head into a soft bosom that smelled of kitchen smoke, lye, and some light acrid scent that I can no longer identify. This memory evokes comfort, but also childish impatience and distaste for yielding flesh.

I do remember her singing; she had a pretty voice. She had heavy auburn hair that she would sometimes allow me to braid.

I was told that she died in agony while my brother tried and failed to enter this world. She labored for three long days as the baby died inside her. Then she too was called to God’s side. I do not know where I was as she lay those three days on the birthing bed that became her deathbed. Maybe I was sent away to a neighboring home. Maybe my mind recoiled so violently at the scene of her death that the memory ripped free. I wonder sometimes if the thoughts that flock my nightmares are abandoned memories coming home to roost.

Several years after my mother died, I was sent to work at the manor house. I would have been sent there eventually, because my father was only a half-virgater, poorer than most, and I was the youngest of three children. My brother and my father did what they could with our land, but they also owed work in other parts of the manor’s holdings. I was certainly not going to have a dowry, and there was no need for two girls to tend to our cottage. Under more fortunate circumstances, I might have remained at home several years longer to help my mother with the baby, but as it was, I left home with half of my milk teeth. I was a sturdy child, big for my age and strong. My father must have believed that I would fare well at the manor house.

On the day I was to leave home, I lay in the loft long after everyone else had risen. I kept my eyes shut, listening as my sister made the fire and chided the hens that got in her way.

My father said, You should wake Agnes. Still, I did not move.

Agnes! my sister scolded. Get up and say good-bye to Father and Thomas! Reluctantly, I rose and lowered myself from the loft. My father’s gaze was grave but unapologetic. He opened his arms to signal that he wished me to approach and embrace him.

Remember that your mother will be watching from heaven, he said gruffly. Be godly and good. We shall see you on May Day. He released me and turned toward the door.

Bye, Nessie, my brother said softly, we shall miss you.

I watched them dissolve into the morning twilight mist as they left to harness the oxen.

Let’s get you a warm bowl of pottage before you go, my sister said. She stirred the steaming pot on the hearth briskly. When she looked up, tears glistened in her eyes. Oh, this green wood smokes too much, she said. It makes my eyes sting.

The walk from our cottage in Over End to the church in Nether End was as familiar as a lullaby, but I had never been beyond the church. The crouching woods of Aviceford Manor’s demesne lay beyond the river that divided the church from the manor’s holdings. On the Sabbath, it was my habit to steal a moment before Mass to visit the riverbank, where I would scour the sand for pretty stones. Even in winter, as long as the snow was not too deep, I would risk a scolding to slip over the embankment. Once near the river, however, I cast only a rare glance into the dark underbrush on the far bank. I knew of fairies who dwelt in rotting mossy trunks, fairies who stole babies from hearthsides at night and left changelings in their places. I was too big for the fairies to snatch, but I did not care to glimpse a scurrying shadow in the woods, sly yellow eyes gleaming.

Once safely inside the church, I would sit beneath a high lancet window facing the trees, holding a smooth stone in my hand and following the dance of dust motes animated by wavering sunlight. There I would remember that fairies are not real.

On that day in early spring, the swollen river swallowed the banks nearly whole, and bare branches scratched at low clouds. Though it had rained heavily the night before, the sky still hung close and dark, pregnant with water. It settled itself over me, making it difficult to breathe.

I counted twenty-two wet logs beneath my feet as I crossed the slippery bridge. Once on the other side, entering the mouth of the forest, my breath eased a little. The trees on either side were quite ordinary, and the wet road remained familiar underfoot. The mud sucked greedily, pulling a shoe right off, and my stockinged foot squelched deep into the muck. After that, much to my irritation, my shoe slipped from my slick foot every time my attention wandered.

I carried with me a small bag containing my other gown, my cloak, the wooden cross my father had made for me, warm stockings my sister had mended, and my collection of stones. Stones are a foolish thing to carry through the countryside, but I was attached to my collection, which I had curated over the course of years. For every stone that I kept, I rejected twenty. Each had to be unique, and it had to harmonize with the others in the collection besides. My favorite place to hunt for stones was at the river, where the water wore them smooth, and the damp brought out color and patterns in the rock. My most treasured stone was oval and flat like a flagstone. The green face was shot through with gold lines, like silken threads in a tapestry. I would hold that stone in the palm of my hand to soothe myself when I had trouble sleeping at night.

Where the woods thinned, yellow coltsfoot pushed through dead grass and leaves, the coarse, genial blooms undimmed by midday blackness. The woods gave way to meadowland, and as the road began to climb, orchards. I knew that my father sometimes worked in these orchards and nearby fields, and I marveled at the distance he had to travel for his week-work.

I struggled to keep my shoe on my foot as I climbed toward the manor house, and this distracted me enough that the appearance of a gate in front of me took me by surprise. I had expected a grand building, but I was unprepared for the scale of the surrounding wall. The wooden gate was reinforced with bands and studs of iron, and it stood at least twice as high and three times as wide as the doors of the church. To my relief, the gate rested ajar, and I pushed with my shoulder to open it farther.

The stench of pigs was first to greet me, and then the confusing sight of several squat structures, some of wood and some of stone. The ponderous sky chose that moment to release its burden; thick sheets of rain obscured my view and battered me with fat, tiny fists. I ran to the nearest building to escape, realizing as I approached that it was a stable. If the horses objected to my intrusion, their noise was drowned by the hammering of rain on the slate roof.

I huddled in a corner, away from the draught, watching the drops gather and fall from the ends of my hair, yearning for our warm hearth and my sister’s chatter. I would only be allowed to leave the manor on saints’ days and other holidays, and I would never again wake up snug against my sister’s warm back. A prickling behind my eyes and tightness in my throat told me to think of other things. I could make out the glossy flanks of horses in the dim light; sometimes a shadowy eye gleamed over the edge of a stall. The air was pungent, but I was comforted by the smell, which I associated with the warmth of their sturdy bodies. I never learned to ride, but I think that I would have enjoyed it.

I never understood why Elfilda—Ella, we called her then, before she became a princess—was so afraid of horses. Her father insisted that she learn to ride. At some point, it was left to me to enforce this dictate. Ella fought the poor stableboy like a cat when he tried to lift her onto the back of a palfrey. When I took the reins and slapped her pale hands sharply, she desisted long enough for the boy to lead her on a slow walk. She never did learn to ride properly, however. It is probably just as well, since hawking makes her cry for the dead bunnies, and hunting is even worse. When the royal court hunts, she feigns illness, though by now her husband must have realized that she will never join them. She takes refuge with her dogs in the kennel, or with us, until the horses are stabled and the meat hung out of sight.

When the rain slowed, I made my way back outside. The sky had brightened a little, and I took in the scene around me. I could see now that there were two gates, the one I had passed through and a second gate farther on, surrounded by tall hedges. Over the hedges, I could make out what I assumed to be the roof of the manor house.

The gate swung briskly open, and a man and a boy appeared. I had not passed a single soul on the road, and I was pleased to see two of my own kind. They wore plain jerkins and hats to shade their faces, and the boy carried a gardener’s scythe in his belt. I hastened toward them, my bag bouncing on my back.

The man turned his furrowed face, his pale eyes nearly vanishing beneath wrinkles when he smiled.

Ho, missy! He tipped his hat. What brings a drowned mouse like you out of the woods?

My father heard from the bailiff that the manor house is in need of a new laundry girl.

Is that so? And you think a wee girl like you will be useful to the laundress?

I am not small! I pointed to the boy standing sulkily beside him. I am taller than him!

The man laughed. True enough, true enough. Well, I don’t know much about laundry, but it does not surprise me that Miss Elisabeth is in need of another new laundry girl. She has a sharp tongue, that one.

My heart sank again, but I said nothing.

My name is John, and this here is Benedict. He is going to help me to prune some trees in the orchard, aren’t you, Benedict my boy? The boy scowled, and John jostled him. You will have to excuse the bad manners of my young apprentice; he is an odd boy who does not like to climb trees. What might we call you, missy?

Agnes, sir.

Well, Agnes, I am very pleased to meet you. If you run along to the house, the chamberlain will find Miss Elisabeth for you. Go to the back door, past the herb garden. That is the kitchen entrance, and someone there can point you to Mr. Geoffrey. If Mr. Geoffrey is in a good mood, he might let you have a spot of bacon and some ale while you dry out. John winked as he turned back toward the orchard. Take what you can get when you can get it, Agnes, and you will fare all right here.

His parting comment did not settle my nerves, but the mention of bacon made my mouth water. The rain had stopped entirely. With a deep breath, I entered the gate through which John and Benedict had appeared and saw Aviceford Manor for the first time.

The sky continued to play games with me: The same moment that the house came into view, the sun leapt from behind a cloud, beaming sudden life into the red sandstone walls of the manor. Rows of glazed windows shone golden, diamond panes glinting. The only glass windows I knew were the narrow lancet windows at church; this house boasted grand mullioned windows, recessed under decorative arches. To my young eyes, the house might have been a castle. The massive main building was flanked by crenelated turrets, ornamented with three stories of lacey cusping and delicate, clover-shaped quatrefoil windows. Lion head corbels guarded the vaulted entrance; above them squatted fanciful spiky-eared gargoyles, their wide mouths holding trumpetlike water spouts.

I could not see the rats, scuttling in the shadows, or hear the crunching of termites, feasting on rafters and braces. I could not feel the ivy, ripping at stone, turning towers into sand. I knew nothing yet of the cloying sickness of relations in that house. To me, the manor was simply beautiful. I was, after all, a child.

2

The Laundry

For those unfamiliar with Aviceford Manor, it is the smallest of three manors that lie within the grand landholding of Ellis Abbey. The Abbess Elfilda (yes, the godmother of Princess Elfilda) appointed Emont Vis-de-Loup, youngest son of Lord Henry Vis-de-Loup, 4th Baron of Wilston, to act as manorial lord at Aviceford. Emont would inherit little from his family, and he could never hope to be a tenant-in-chief like his father, but the manor provided him with a comfortable living even after the abbey took its share.

Emont was unmarried, and gossipers in the village liked to say that he saved his affection for barrels of ale and bottles of wine. This shifted more than the usual burden of manorial supervision to the chamberlain. Geoffrey Poke had been well ensconced at the top of the servants’ hierarchy when Emont became lord, and the combination of Geoffrey’s craving for authority and Emont’s disinterest allowed the chamberlain to expand the power of his position. By the time I met him, he had become an iron-fisted autocrat who did not brook even the most trifling opposition from his inferiors.

As I first stood before him in the hallway by the buttery, I might have been a disappointingly small wood pigeon he was considering having plucked for dinner. He slowly circled, examining me from my sodden hair to my humiliatingly exposed foot—I had been obliged to leave my muddy stocking outside along with my shoes.

Abruptly, he said, What is your father’s name, and where does he live? His voice was thin and nasal.

William, sir. William Rolfe. We live in Over End.

Over End, Aviceford Village?

Yes, sir.

What are you, fourteen years old?

Ten, sir. Nearly eleven.

He lifted his eyebrows. What use are you?

I am a hard worker, sir. I am strong, and my mother taught me well.

What would your mother know about laundry? He brought his hatchet face close to mine. You smell like pigs’ dung.

I stared at his fat lower lip, peculiarly fleshy in his narrow face, glistening with spit. His mouth was so crowded with teeth that his lips did not fully close. I wanted to back away from his unpleasant breath.

Geoffrey continued to stare at me, moistening his lips again with his tongue. He made a grunting noise in the back of his throat. I suppose you will do, he said finally, moving away. The laundry has been piling up since the last girl left, and I am running out of linens. I shall take you to Elisabeth.

I had been thinking of bacon since my conversation with John. As the tall chamberlain led me away from the kitchen, I felt like a savory morsel had been snatched from my hand. Sir? I said. I have had nothing to eat since daybreak.

He looked at me with irritation. Dinner has already been cleared. If you are lucky, you might get some supper.

As we traversed a narrow passageway of stones, their surfaces cracked and rough as ancient cowhide, I noticed the chamberlain’s awkward gait. The sole of his left shoe was several times the thickness of the right, and the blunt toe angled in a strange direction. What grotesque deformity hid beneath the oiled covering?

The hall tapered away in front of us into the gloom, disappearing into the black maw of an open doorway. Geoffrey jabbed a long finger toward the entrance. There is the laundry room. Go find Elisabeth. He limped away, leaving me alone in the passage.

I peered from the doorway into darkness. Weak light from a solitary window near the ceiling illuminated a shallow, stone-lined pool of water on the floor, but the rest of the room lay in shadow. Gradually, the shadows assumed recognizable forms. An enormous wooden bucking tub squatted near the pool, raised on four stout feet. Along the back wall was a cold fireplace, ashes spilling over the edge of the hearth, wood strewn in disorderly piles. A mountain of linens towered in the corner. There was no laundress.

When I considered returning to the chamberlain, my stomach clenched sickeningly. I would wait for the laundress to return. I looked for a seat, and as there was none, I perched on a smooth stone at the lip of the pool. The stones formed a low wall around what presumably functioned as a laundry basin. I decided to put on my clean stockings while I waited. I was hungry and damp, but at least I would have warm feet.

As I bent forward to peel off my single wet stocking, a deep sighing breath broke the silence of the room, like a rock thrown into a still pond. I froze, the hairs rising on my arms.

A stirring in the heap of linens should have returned me to my senses, but instead, I panicked. I scrambled backward, splashing loudly into the slack pool. The water must have been standing unused for a great length of time to have accumulated such a thick layer of slime, and my disturbance released an evil stench. A shrill screech filled the room, echoing, as the laundress rose from the pile of soiled linens and bore down upon me.

Get out of there! Her massive bosom heaved. Get out, you little brat! What are you doing?

Slipping on the slime-covered stones, I did my best to oblige. My name is Agnes, miss, and I am the new laundry girl.

The look she gave me was impenetrable. She placed incongruously doll-like hands on her ample hips. When she began again, her tone was measured. If you are the new laundry girl, we had better see what you can do. Considering how much work you have, she jerked her head toward the pile of laundry, you had better get started right away, hadn’t you?

Yes, miss. I shivered. The room was cold, and I was dripping wet.

It is cold in here, but lucky for you, your first job will be to build a fire. She stepped into the shaft of sunlight, and for the first time, I saw her properly. She was as plump as a Christmas goose; I marveled at her girth. Yellow curls escaped from the edge of her dirty bonnet. Her face might have been pretty if her delicate features had not been enfolded in doughy flesh. What are you waiting for? she asked sharply.

I hunched my shoulders and slid over to the fireplace to sweep the hearth, keeping my head down. Weeks’ worth of ashes choked the fireplace. I filled the bucket with as many cinders as would fit, clearing some space, and I built a small bed for the fire using twigs and straw. Next to the fireplace, I found a good flint and a supply of char cloth, and the fire was soon lit. I then began to organize the haphazard piles of wood and kindling on the floor.

Never mind that, said the laundress. Get the ashes ready.

I looked at her, confused.

Spread the ashes on the bucking cloth, you idiot!

I had never used a bucking tub before. Gingerly, I reached up and sprinkled black soot on the cloth that stretched taut over the opening.

Afraid of straining your wee delicate arms, princess? Dump those ashes and fetch water from the rain barrel. She handed me an ancient, blackened kettle.

My footsteps echoed dully as I retraced my steps through the narrow hallway, past the cramped and lightless buttery and into the back foyer. Late-afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, dazzling my eyes and coalescing in bright pools on the flagstones. I could see that a coating of ashes clung to my wet frock; brushing at them only made dark smears.

As I approached the heavy doors of the kitchen, which hung ajar, an invisible wall of sound and scent—clanging pots, muffled shouts, the aroma of roasting chicken and baking bread—arrested my feet in midstride. I inhaled greedily, which only goaded my hunger into sinking its claws deeper.

Outside, my shoes were hardly drier than I had left them, but I knocked off the mud as best I could and put them back on. A path snaked along the rear wall of the manor, leading to the gardens and dovecote. As the stone slabs were slippery with rain and moss, I walked alongside, in the coarse and dripping seedling grasses, swinging the empty kettle to make raindrops scatter from drooping stalks of dogtail.

Over the low wall surrounding the herb garden, I recognized the back of John’s leather jerkin and his frayed hat. He yanked up fistfuls of young mint and comfrey, which ran amok, covering the soil in a riotous froth of green. Doubtless he was beating the shoots back to make room for herbs that still slumbered in the earth.

Little mouse! he said with a laugh. You have turned from a pretty little white mousie to a black one; did you meet a witch?

I grimaced, and his smile softened.

Cheer up, little mouse. Miss Elisabeth is hard-hearted, but she is a practical woman. You look like a clever girl who can find a way to work with her. Keep your chin up.

I nodded and carried on. Nothing was served by arguing.

A rain barrel was located at the far side of the herb garden, where it could be used for watering. I plunged the kettle deep into the clean, chill water. The cold was both painful and delicious, and I pushed my arms deeper, leaning against the barrel. Light rippled across the surface of the water, and as it calmed, I could see my reflection peering back at me. If my heart had not been so heavy, I would have laughed. My face was almost entirely black; only my serious brown eyes were recognizable to me. I released the kettle with one hand to splash water on my face.

John was nowhere to be seen as I struggled back toward the house, holding the kettle with both hands, trying to keep it from knocking against my shins. Once again, I paused at the entrance to the laundry room, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dimness.

The laundress had stretched herself out on the pile of dirty linens, and I hoped that she had fallen asleep. She stirred as soon as I entered the room, however, and sat up.

What took you so long? You will not sleep tonight at this rate. She adjusted her cap primly. Put the kettle on the fire. You will need to keep fetching water and heating it until the tub is full. If you are lucky, you might be done before the compline bell, but I doubt it. She rose, smoothing her skirt. I am going to supper.

But, miss, I have not eaten since daybreak!

Then you had better hurry. She crossed to the door with a surprisingly light step. When you finish here, you will sleep in the kitchen. There will be a trundle next to the larder. Her shadow, which had eclipsed the doorway, disappeared.

I confess that I felt very sorry for myself in that moment. After she left, I sat by the fire and had a cry. It was the first time that I had been away from my family, and my sister’s absence was a hole through my chest. I had never been thankful enough for Lottie’s bowls of filling pottage, or for the comfort of nestling against her solid back, rocking with each sleeping breath. I yearned for home, but even as I watched my tears splash into the feathery ashes, I was aware of another feeling. Deep beneath my piteous thoughts curled something else, something hard and vengeful.

My arms tired from carrying loads of water and lifting the heavy kettle over the tub. Light faded and then departed from the window. Though it became more difficult to see, I did not much miss the cheerless light. The firelight was not enough, but it was hearty.

I was preoccupied when John came into the room, and I started when he coughed.

Sorry, mousie, I did not mean to frighten you. I just brought you a little supper.

As he set a cloth-covered bundle and clay bottle on the floor, I had a giddy impulse to run to him and throw my arms around his narrow chest, like I used to do to my father when I was

Reviews for All the Ever Afters

[stefferoo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’ve never been able to say no to a good fairy tale retelling. They are my absolute weakness, and I’ve been especially tempted as of late by the recent crop of novels touting the point-of-view of the “villain”. It ultimately led me to pick up All the Ever Afters, which boldly bears the tagline describing itself as the untold story of Cinderella’s stepmother, the notoriously cruel and wicked antagonist from the classic fairy tale we all know and love.However, the author Danielle Teller’s approach to this novel is one that I’ve seldom seen in most fairy tale retellings I’ve read, in that she has completely eschewed all aspects of fantasy and magic, choosing instead to ground her story in history. Opening on the French countryside sometime during the mid-fourteenth or early fifteenth century, the tale introduces readers to Agnes, a young girl born into poverty. Her family could not afford to raise her, so she was sent at the tender age of ten to a nearby lord’s manor to become a laundress’s assistant. Worked to the bone and unfairly treated, Agnes had no choice but to use all her wits and wiles to finagle a better position for herself, eventually managing to escape the manor for a less punishing job at the local abbey.All goes well for several years until Agnes is seduced by the Abbess’s ward and messenger, and their relationship results in a pregnancy. Ejected from the abbey, our protagonist is set up in a village where she becomes the proprietor of a brewery and alehouse, mostly raising her daughters on her own. But soon, tragedy strikes, and Agnes is forced into a situation where she must work her way up from nothing once more. A twist of fate lands her back in the manor where she worked as a child, but the lord is now married with an infant daughter. And thus, Agnes finds herself hired on to be a nursemaid to little Ella, the awkward but radiantly beautiful girl who will one day marry the handsome prince she meets at a fateful ball.Now Agnes and her two daughters live at the palace, where she tells her tale in the hopes of showing how accounts of her wickedness have either been greatly exaggerated or are outright lies. In fact, she was a victim of forced labor herself, and All the Ever Afters is her own rags to riches story. It is a heart-wrenching novel about growing up with nothing to your name, of having to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps to make your own success. While there have been times where she had to use her cunning or resort to deception to get what she wants, Agnes is no villain. And if on occasion she was tough on Ella or punished her too harshly as a child, we learn that it is only because Agnes has been independent and hardworking her whole life, and as a result, she cannot bear idleness or watching her stepdaughter grow up helpless and spoiled.In a way, All the Ever Afters is also the untold story of Cinderella’s stepsisters, called Charlotte and Matilda in this version of the retelling. Like their mother, they aren’t the awful people from the many popular versions of Cinderella either, and they’ve gone through their own share of hard times. Now that I’ve read Teller’s portrayal, I also doubt that I’ll ever think about the “ugly stepsisters” epithet the same way again, not after reading about a mother’s hurt and pain from Agnes’s perspective.As I said before, this is also a purely non-magical story; there will be no fairy godmothers, pumpkin carriages, or singing animals here (though, I was amused to see, the author had managed to work in a tongue-in-cheek jibe at the popular depiction of Cinderella and her affinity for mice, except in this book, Ella’s friendship with her rat Henrietta is nowhere near as adorable…or hygienic). A lot of fairy tale retellings tend to give the mundane things of the world a fantastical twist, but it seems All the Ever Afters set out to do almost the exact opposite, downplaying the magical elements and addressing all that we know about the Cinderella story with realistic explanations.I also found it interesting how the novel mirrored many of the original fairy tale’s lessons—that is, to always work hard and never let setbacks or difficult people get you down. However, while the classic version also taught that beauty is esteemed, but that having a good heart is the most important, things are not so idealized in Agnes’s more realistic world. Her stepdaughter Ella—who is naïve, spoiled, and rather soft and vapid—manages to snag a prince and is loved by all in the kingdom for no other reason because she is beautiful. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Matilda, who have endured so much more, will never have anywhere close to the same opportunities simply because they are homely. Agnes’s lesson for her daughters? Life is not fair, but you still do what you must to keep moving forward.All in all, I enjoyed All the Ever Afters very much. With Cinderella only playing a bit part, this tale truly belongs to her stepmother, who has been given new life by Danielle Teller. In this heartfelt novel, there are no magical spells or fairy godmothers, for Agnes is a woman who relies on nothing but herself to change her life and make a better future for her children. If you prefer fantasy in your fairy tale retellings, you may wish to reconsider this one, but if you don’t mind a narrative that’s more rooted in realism, then I really can’t recommend this highly enough.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great take on the Cinderella story, but I was hoping for a little more fun or fantasy.

[kristymk18-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am always excited to delve into a new retelling. It's interesting to see what spin an author will put on it. All the Ever Afters is a retelling of Cinderella, specifically about Cinderella's step-mom. While it definitely had some high points, most of the time I unfortunately felt bored.

[klarsenmd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this as part of the LT early reviewer program. while this is spun as the story of cinderlla's step-mother, I really feel it was much more a period piece that only vaguely touched on the classic tale. I found the story of Agnes and her rise from a starving peasant to a lady in charge of a large manor nicely written, even if it drags a little in the telling. the first half of the story focuses solely on Agnes's early life and struggles and the later on her relationship with Ella and her father, touching on many of the key cinderlla moments. I found it interesting that the author gave Cinderella characteristics suggestive of autism and her knowledge of medicine made many details much more believable. I would not suggest this for anyone looking for a fairytale but would recommend it to those who enjoy realistic period pieces.

[avanders_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Review based on ARC (Advanced Review Copy received for free in exchange for an honest review).Yes, of course, the cover is gorgeous. ;) But the story feel a little flat for me. Briefly, it is a story of Cinderella's "wicked" step-mother from her own perspective. This sort of the-villain-is-only-misunderstood theme is rather popular right now, but I appreciated that Teller's take was less explanation for bad actions and more of a, hey, maybe you heard it wrong...The good:It was a quick read. It did not drag, and I definitely wanted to know how it all played out. I liked some of the characters, and I thought that Teller did a good job of rounding out some of the more minor characters.The not-so-good:Nonetheless, I felt that a lot of the characters were rather 2-dimensional. There didn't seem to be much growth, and I was frankly a little surprised at the outcomes/lack of outcomes for certain threads. Also, I was expecting something of a fairy tale type of style, and this reads more like historical fiction. It's dark, but not in the fantasy way; rather, in the "bad things happen to good people" way. Also, there wasn't really any magical or mystical element to it. Thus -- it reads more like historical fiction (but in a sort of memoir format). But it was an interesting take and, as I said, read quickly. I liked the little explanations provided for the various aspects of the "fairy tale" that we know and love and thought that, for what it was, Teller did a nice job. Her writing is fine and her language is not laborious or stilted. It was a novel that flowed. But it was definitely more "drama" than fantasy.Overall, THREE of five stars. If you are intrigued by a sort of "real-life" telling of Cinderella's step-mother's life and how she came to be the "wicked step-mother," then this is the book for you. You will enjoy it! If you are looking for a retelling in more of a fantasy vein, I think you may prefer looking elsewhere.

[bookchickdi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm not a particular fan of fairy tales, but I do enjoy a good retelling or re-imagining of a classic story, so Danielle Teller's All The Ever Afters caught my attention.Told from the point of view of Agnes, Cinderella's stepmother, we get a different take on Cinderella. Agnes' mother died in childbirth, when she was just a small child. Her father was very poor and couldn't care for three children, so Agnes was sent off to work at the Aviceford Manor house at the age of ten.She ended up as an assistant in the laundry, where the young child did most of the actual work, while the laundress verbally and physically abused her. It was a brutal life for a child, sleeping on the pantry floor, working sunup to sundown.One day, she was called to assist Emont, the Lord of the Manor. He was lying passed-out drunk, and Agnes helped clean him up.Soon Agnes grew up, met a sweet-talking man and fell in love. She became pregnant, and they married, only for Agnes to discover that he was not the man she thought he was.Agnes was a clever, hardworking woman, and she found her way to becoming a brewer, making ale and selling it at a small tavern. She was quite successful, raising her two daughters Charlotte and Matilda, until circumstances arose that took her livelihood away. (Let's just say that times were not kind to women.)When Agnes ends up working back at the Manor, the lady of the manor had just given birth to a baby girl, Elfilda, called Ella. Agnes cared for Ella, nursing her, carrying her around while she worked. Lord Emont recognized Agnes as the young child who helped him years ago, and they form a friendship.Soon Agnes' good business sense helps Lord Emont in running the manor, and eventually the two become close and marry. Ella is not happy about the situation, and neither are Charlotte or Matilda. Ella is a quiet child, standoffish. She doesn't like to ride horses, like her mother did. She loves beautiful gowns and is frequently off in her own world.Interspersed in the story are journal entries from the Royal Court, where Ella is now married to Prince Henry. Ella has three young children, and Agnes, Charlotte and Matilda are not quite insiders, yet not outsiders either.We learn from Agnes a different side to Ella and Henry's love story- meeting at the ball, dropping her shoe, the search of the kingdom for Ella using the shoe- it's all here, albeit with a unique viewpoint and spin.All The Ever Afters is a wonderful story, especially for people who love Broadway's Wicked and TV's Once Upon A Time. It's got a feminist twist to the story, with Agnes using her brains and compassion to make her way in a world that is not kind to women who are not conventionally beautiful or rich. She fiercely loves her daughters, and would do anything to protect them. I recommend it.

[mishker-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Agnes is the third daughter born to a serf in an English village. When she is still a child she is sent to work at Aviceford Manor in town as a laundry apprentice. The laundress she works for simply gives Agnes all the work there is to do. While things seem hopeless Agnes cuts out a place for herself and chooses to work wisely instead of hard. Through her intelligence and cunning, Agnes finds her way up in the world to serve the abbesses mother, Lady Wenslock at Ellis Abbey. While at the abbey, Agnes is wooed by the messenger, Fernan and becomes pregnant. Together, they are sent away and Fernan is ordered to care for her. Agnes once again creates a better life for herself by learning how to brew. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Agnes is once again forced back to Aviceford Manor as a servent, this time she is an adult with children of her own and she is able to be a nurse to the master's daughter, Elfida or Ella as everyone calls her. Still endeared to Sir Emont, Agnes soon finds herself as Ella's stepmother. Ella proves a wistful child, lost in her own mind and intentions and is given anything she wants by her father. Agnes tries her best to temper Ella with hard work and life lessons like her own daughters, but Ella's beauty and station in life eventually get her everything she wished for. Set within history and the confies of women's roles, duties and expectations at the time, the story of Cinderella's step-mother unfolds. I have always enjoyed fairy tale retellings especially when they are rooted in reality. Agnes' story reveals how traditional beauty is favored, how your station and gender affect opportunity and choice and most of all how stories evolve. With lavish writing and elegant prose, I was pulled me in to Agnes' world. I was constantly impressed with Agnes' ability to pull herself up and carve out a place for herself in a world where she could have easily been forgotten. In this harsh time in history, we are pulled out of the fairy tale element by the realities of Agnes' life. Most of all, by her want of freedom and never seeming to quite achieve it. Cinderella's 'ugly' step- sisters were also given context. Charlotte and Matilda were enchanting in their own right and I would love to see where their life went as well. By seeing Agnes' background, it provides a stark contrast to Cinderella in every way as well as a basis for the injustices that Cinderella had endured. Through seeing the other side of the story, we go deeper than good vs. evil and the tale of happily ever after; perhaps, Cinderella isn't the only one to receive her ever after. A meaningful story that combines history, fairy tale and strong female leads, All the Ever Afters is one of my favorite reads so far this year. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

[brokenteepee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoy a good Fairy Tale back story. Some are built on fantasy and others like this one are more based in reality – well the reality of historical fiction. This is not Cinderella’s story although she obviously looms large in the background for their would be no “evil stepmother” or “ugly stepsisters” without the beautiful princess would there?All the Ever Afters belongs to Agnes, Cinderella’s stepmother. In fact, it is written in memoir form. Agnes starts from her life at court now that her stepdaughter is married to the Prince of the land but she is hearing the most disturbing rumors about her daughters and more hurtfully about herself. She doesn’t understand where the stories are originating because the Princess is really a simple girl with no guile. She decides to counter them by writing her story so that her truth will be known.Agnes did not have an easy life. She was basically sent away from her home at 10 after her mother dies in childbirth as her father could not afford to feed her. She was sent to the manor to find work in the laundry. There she was abused and mistreated but her quick wit and inherent intelligence helps her adapt to the job. She eventually gains the notice of the Lord and he looks kindly upon her. She takes advantage of this to escape to an opportunity at the Abbey which leads to a disgrace that is ultimately her making.After a hard life, well lived that produced two daughters Agnes finds herself back at the manor seeking a job. Life as a servant is not easy and life as a woman is nothing more than being tossed from one man to another because women have no control of their own selves. As she shows her worth at the manor she comes full circle and finds herself as its lady – but it’s not a situation that came to her in an easy way and there was much resistance.I will admit that I wasn’t expecting such a plain telling when I accepted All the Ever Afters for review. I was anticipating something more fantasy based. But as I started the book I realized that this was the perfect way to tell this story. I found myself completely lost in Agnes’s life and I felt so badly for this young girl ripped from everything she knew and sent to find her way in the world.There is also much to be read between the lines in the tale about how we treat those that are different from us. Divisions due to class, skin color, physical attractiveness and more are all presented rather bluntly as people in these simpler times assumed that rich people were better, pretty people were smarter and darker skinned people were from the devil. Oh, wait – is that then or now? There is much to think about concerning how we treat each other and what we assume from appearance alone.This was a book that captivated me from the first page – oh heck, it had me at that beautiful cover – and it still hasn’t let go. Is it a perfect book – no, but it’s a damn good one.

[liveshipvivacia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm quite enjoying this creative take on the Cinderella story and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for an alternate spin; perhaps someone who might be a fan of Wicked or the Lunar Chronicles with its retellings.

[marysgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Re-imagining fairy/folk tales--particularly from the antagonist's POV--is a popular trope, so I looked forward to this read. It has several things going for it: sympathetic characters in a realistic setting (no magic or fairies), and a well-known plot. We follow Agnes, the titular character, from the time she came to a run-down manner house to work as a 10-year-old laundry girl, to ladies maid, to alewife and mother, wet-nurse to the baby Ella, and finally ascending to Lady of the Manor and step-mother. Along the way, she uses her wits and hard work to survive oppression and loss, trying to make a good life for her daughters and step-daughter.The author did a lovely job of showing how difficult life could be for a lower-class girl/woman alone in the world subject to the whims of her superiors and upper-class masters. She also makes the point that even Ella as a noble-born girl has few choices in life. Agnes is spunky and smart. She always seems to come out of each situation a little better than when she went in, picking up education and skills along the way so the transition from laundry girl to Lady of the Manor works. She makes a success of everything she undertakes, but those successes are overturned time and again by fate and the neglect of her superiors. Her resilience keeps her going.Given such a compelling character, I was a little disappointed in the actual story and story-telling. The novel is told in first person from Agnes' POV as an older woman recalling her life. The conceit is that she is aware of the "lies and tales" told about her in the general population as a result of her step-daughter's romantic marriage to a prince of the realm and she takes care to correct the record. There is enough self-reflection and ownership of mistakes, that the reader can believe Agnes is a reliable narrator. However, the narrator is older and we get little passion from her. Even when she suffers terrible loss, we're told she sobs from grief, but don't feel it. The entire tone of the book is "quiet" and emotionally muted. What elevated this book from an OK read, were the historical details and insight in women's lives in the past. In addition, the personality quirks of Ella and her mother Alba showed how children/people with neurological disorders like bi-polar disease or high-functioning autism might be treated in the past--if they were rich and born to noble families. In the end, I liked the book, but didn't love it compared to others of this type I've read.Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through an early reader program in exchange for an honest review.

[courtneygiraldo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This weeks read was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review.Fairy-tale retelling alert! We all know how much I dig this genre, and this one was no disappointment. All the Ever Afters is a re-imagined tale of the classic Cinderella whose main focus is Agnes, or as you may know her from the more well known version, the evil stepmother. Agnes is a young child when she is forced from her home into servitude as a laundresses apprentice after her mother dies and her father realizes he has too many mouths to feed. Young Agnes' life is hard, but through hard work, determination, and wit, she slowly works her way up the social ladder. Over the next two decades she learns to read and write, bears children, learns to brew ale and runs her own alehouse, and eventually becomes nursemaid to a young child, affectionately named Ella. When circumstance leads her to marry Ella's father (a nobleman), Agnes struggles to love this breathtaking (if daydreamy) beauty. Agnes beginnings as a servant make it nearly impossible to coddle the young child as everyone else seems to do, but nevertheless she raises her to the best of her ability. Ella and Agnes' relationship is strained at times, but weathers the storm of parental loss and teenage growing pains to transform into something whole and meaningful.I can't tell you guys how much I adored this book, not only was the story line perfect, but the writing was lyrical and captivating and art in and of itself. Part of the reason I really enjoy these types of retelling's is that the reader is privy to a deeper dive into characters lives that are otherwise left very one dimensional in the traditional versions. These secondary characters are made whole, given life experiences and the reader gains insight into the reasoning behind decisions they made and the grim realities they have faced. Agnes was a superbly well written character. Her ingenuity and adaptability really highlighted how much of a survivor she was; in a time period where women were not afford options and possibilities, she really had to work within her circumstances to better her life. Using her wit and perseverance, Agnes was able to take the hard hands dealt to her and not only survive, but thrive. No matter how many times she was knocked down, she got back up, and got back up stronger. Seeing her relationship with Ella through this new lens really gave perspective into a different sort of reality. Not everything is so black and white, good and evil. Sometimes we are just different people, with different upbringings, and different world views struggling with relationships because we really just can't see where the fault lies (likely with us as much as with them). It shows just how much the baggage and our past can really impact our relationships if we let it, and that ultimately in the end, it can be overcame, if only we try.I thought Ella was a really unique interpretation of Cinderella. She came off as not just an entitled aristocrat but someone who also perhaps was on the autism spectrum. Her fixation on dresses and linens, self soothing with organizing and repetition, difficulty relating to and forming relationships with others, and her constant desire to be in solitude/her own world. It was a really interesting take on the classic heroine and refreshing to read a different sort of character. Overall, highly recommend this one. It was an enchanting read that kept me enthralled from page one!

[karen.helfrick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I won an advanced readers edition from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers group.What a great retelling of a classic fairy tale! I couldn’t think of a way to make the evil stepmother sympathetic, but the author manages to do so. This a full world, anchored in history and populated with flawed but relatable characters. I recommend!!

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

OMG. Calling all fans of fairy tales; you have to pick up a copy of All the Ever Afters. You don't want to have any regrets being the only one not talking about this book. I really loved author, Danielle Teller's imaginative take on Cinderella's step mother, Agnes. This book is refreshing as it does not focus on the main character, Cinderella but an understated character...her stepmother. I really felt for Agnes. If you go into this story with any thoughts that Agnes is the "evil" stepmother, you will soon find yourself wanting to protect Agnes. Agnes was so warm and inviting of a character. I just couldn't stop reading. I got "lost" in this book (in a good way). I was saddened with I came to the end as I didn't want the story to end. All the Ever Afters will surely be one of the biggest hits of 2018!

[kerilynned · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It wasn't until a little over 100 pages in to the book that it really started to grab my attention. Even though it has a slow start it's a very interesting story. Some of the descriptions of things where a little long winded but other than that very nicely written. The author was sure to cover all the main points of the Cinderella story from Agnes' point of view, along with whole story of Agnes. While Agnes does make mistakes it shows that she was in no way evil. She did her best with what she was given and did the best for her daughters, even Cinderella. I recommend to anyone who loves retelling and fairytales! I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[rebeccabookreview · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.I have recently enjoyed the influx of fairy-tale retellings and the tales that are told from a different point of view. I loved the movie that came out a few years ago, Maleficient, and of course one of my all time favorites in this vein was the musical, Wicked. From these stories we learn that evil is not born but made, and truthfully is decided by the story-teller. Tales are exaggerated and told to paint the story teller in a sympathetic tone so that the reader will empathize with their plight. Agnes as a character was much easier to empathize with than I expected, especially considering how well the Cinderella story was ingrained in my mind prior to reading this book. Agnes as a character though was so strong-willed and determined to find a better life both for herself and for her daughters that it was easy to root for her success. And while many things in her life could be defined as "unfair," her logical approach never let that fact weigh her down and instead she persevered in spite of the unfairness of her circumstances. At first I found the narration to be a tad overly wordy but after a little bit of adjustment it was easy to read, and the words painted such a vivid portrait that infused the text with emotions and feeling. I enjoyed this book immensely and I love that by reading it the reader is made to re-think the truths of good and evil. This was truly an enjoyable novel and I would definitely recommend it, especially for fans of the Cinderella story. 

[written-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow...I guess there really are two sides to a story. This retelling of Cinderella told from the step-mother's side was really interesting and speaks to how hard life has been for women.No fairy tale here. Agnes (who eventually became Cinderella's step-mother)was born to a family of peasants, working serfs to the manor. At the age of 10 Agnes is sent off to the manor to a life of servitude as the apprentice to a tyrannical laundress. Horrible life to be a lowly servant but Agnes is smart.She suffers for years in this position until she makes a break for what she hopes is a better position working for the Abbess Elfilda, yes that would be the future godmother of Princess Elfilda(known to us as Cinderella). Life at the Ellis Abbey is a better life for Agnes but not perfect. Agnes is a peasant,a commoner always being put in her place. But she learns to read and picks up the habits and manners of her "betters". Again Agnes learns another hard lesson in life when she becomes pregnant. Forced to leave the Abbey and having to once again reinvent herself. So read the book and you'll never look at the story of Cinderella and her "wicked step-mother and wicked step-sisters" in the same way again. I actually like Agnes' story better. This was a really great retelling.

[Natalie Folan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I expected this book to be a bit of entertainment, and for a brief moment in the beginning I wasn’t holding my breath. However, I soon found myself hungrily reading through every page as I became more and more invested in Agnes’ story. I have been enjoying many feminist retellings of classic fairytales, and I think this is among one of my favourite so far. The author did a fantastic job in making Cinderella, her stepmother and stepsisters become real human beings with virtues and flaws, and it all became a very real story about an incredible woman keeping a family together rather than a fanciful tale. I am glad I went on this journey with Agnes (the not so wicked stepmother) and her daughters, this beautiful gem of a novel was absolutely worth the read.

[bookscookslooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoy a good Fairy Tale back story. Some are built on fantasy and others like this one are more based in reality – well the reality of historical fiction. This is not Cinderella’s story although she obviously looms large in the background for their would be no “evil stepmother” or “ugly stepsisters” without the beautiful princess would there?All the Ever Afters belongs to Agnes, Cinderella’s stepmother. In fact, it is written in memoir form. Agnes starts from her life at court now that her stepdaughter is married to the Prince of the land but she is hearing the most disturbing rumors about her daughters and more hurtfully about herself. She doesn’t understand where the stories are originating because the Princess is really a simple girl with no guile. She decides to counter them by writing her story so that her truth will be known.Agnes did not have an easy life. She was basically sent away from her home at 10 after her mother dies in childbirth as her father could not afford to feed her. She was sent to the manor to find work in the laundry. There she was abused and mistreated but her quick wit and inherent intelligence helps her adapt to the job. She eventually gains the notice of the Lord and he looks kindly upon her. She takes advantage of this to escape to an opportunity at the Abbey which leads to a disgrace that is ultimately her making.After a hard life, well lived that produced two daughters Agnes finds herself back at the manor seeking a job. Life as a servant is not easy and life as a woman is nothing more than being tossed from one man to another because women have no control of their own selves. As she shows her worth at the manor she comes full circle and finds herself as its lady – but it’s not a situation that came to her in an easy way and there was much resistance.I will admit that I wasn’t expecting such a plain telling when I accepted All the Ever Afters for review. I was anticipating something more fantasy based. But as I started the book I realized that this was the perfect way to tell this story. I found myself completely lost in Agnes’s life and I felt so badly for this young girl ripped from everything she knew and sent to find her way in the world.There is also much to be read between the lines in the tale about how we treat those that are different from us. Divisions due to class, skin color, physical attractiveness and more are all presented rather bluntly as people in these simpler times assumed that rich people were better, pretty people were smarter and darker skinned people were from the devil. Oh, wait – is that then or now? There is much to think about concerning how we treat each other and what we assume from appearance alone.This was a book that captivated me from the first page – oh heck, it had me at that beautiful cover – and it still hasn’t let go. Is it a perfect book – no, but it’s a damn good one.

[clue_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This updated adult version of the Cinderella story is told by Agnes, the stepmother. It is really her story, beginning when she is a child and ending when she is fifty. Her stepdaughter Ella, the most beautiful woman in the realm, is a princess by this time and the mother of three. One of Agnes' sorrows is that her own daughters are unmarriageable due to the pox scars that mar their faces and although they love Ella's children, will ever know the joys of motherhood. Agnes keeps no secrets and admits to errors she made as a mother and stepmother, including being hard on Ella. Their lives were so different with Agnes knowing hunger, hard work and depravation while Ella was spoiled and cherished from the day she was born. Despite their differences they remain a family and Ella, now in a position to provide comfort and security to her stepmother and sisters, happily does.

[faith_murri · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this ARC from William Morrow on LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way.

"Being strong does not disqualify you from being beautiful."
Wow this book is amazing!

The Writing

For a debut, this is absolutely astounding! This is one of the most well written books I have ever read! As an example, here's a bunch of quotes I particularly loved:

"Compelling fiction often obscures the humble truth."
I wonder sometimes if the thoughts that flock my nightmares are abandoned memories coming home to roost.
I no longer believe that people are born without virtue. It gets beaten out. Misfortune threshes our souls as a flail threshes wheat, and the lightest parts of ourselves are scattered to the wind.
I was a mouse trapped in a corner, looking for a crack to flee through but dispairing of finding one.
"Imagine what ideas are locked up in the hearts and minds of women who simply lack the tools to express them."
I was a candle that had never known a flame, and now that the flame was lit, I softened and glowed in a way I had not known was possible.
Our fascination with feminine beauty is elemental. It is said that men wish to possess the princess and women wish to be the princess, but I believe that is only part of the truth. We are drawn to extraordinary beauty mindlessly and purposelessly; we flutter on dusty moth wings toward the effulgence with no understanding of why we do it. Perhaps when we see a woman with the aspect of an angel, our souls are tricked into following her, mistaking her for a guide to paradise.
The opposite, of course, is also true.
The stories we tell ourselves have great power.
Because misfortune does not wait idly by until we are prepared for it.
"Rich only matters if he marries you," I said grimly. "Handsome matters not at all."
"You speak of love? Love is a sickness that causes men and women to do stupid things, the sorts of things that leave them sad and broken when the fever passes."
Whew, that's a long list. Well, that's because THIS BOOK IS AMAZING and everyone needs to read it. All the characters were so real and multi-dimensional. The world (though a bit difficult to place the time period at first) was really great, and I loved how religion was mixed in without being preachy.

My only gripe was the fact that it's a Cinderella retelling, and only because I feel like that dragged down the potential of the story. It became predictable (because who doesn't know Cinderella's story?) and I found myself tiring of those parts of the story. The prologue, for instance, was not really necessary and only served to give reason for the journal entries scattered about. Which opening line would you rather have? This:

Suppers at the royal court have become entirely too oppressive.
Or this:

I hardly remember my own mother.
I think you'll all agree with me that the latter is far superior and engaging.

I absolutely loved the theme of motherhood in this. It was so well done and, though I am not a mother, I'm an aunt and my love and adoration for my nephew pales in comparison to Agnes' love for her daughters. And the themes of beauty and love were equally well done.

The Characters

Agnes: She was such an interesting and relatable protagonist. She's so complex and flawed, and she grows so much while staying fundamentally the same.

Fernan: I really found him to be a complex person, especially as Agnes realizes and learns more about him. I was so conflicted as to whether I loved him or hated him, but I never felt indifferent towards him.

Charlotte and Matilda: As someone who has a ton of sisters, they totally got the sister-dynamic down. They also really reminded me (even in appearance, strangely enough--Danielle Teller, have you been watching me??) of my oldest sisters, so reading about them was a huge, super sweet, cavity enducing treat.

Ella: She was really interesting too, and really humanized.

Emont: Man, I feel somewhat similar him as I do Fernan, but honestly, I pity him more anything. He's a pretty pitiful person.

Lady Alba: She gave me some serious Jane Eyre vibes. This whole book gave me Jane Eyre vibes, man.

Conclusion

I love this book so much. It might have even topped 1984 for my favorite book this month and possibly all time. It is amazingly well written, and I went through the whole gamut of emotions reading this. I shed some tears, I laughed and chuckled and giggled like a fool. I love this book and everyone really needs to read it.

Danielle Teller, I applaud you on your fabulous debut. You done good.

[sonped89 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the story was interesting and could not close the book! This is a great light reading if anyone is interested. Any re-telling stories are always fun to read.

[ouroborosangel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my gosh, you guys! All the Ever Afters is fantastic! I will never look at Cinderella's "evil" stepmother or her "ugly" stepsisters in the same way again. I found this to be a perfectly believable re-telling of what really happened to all the people in the Cinderella fairytale especially knowing how people can twist any story into an unrecognizable mess. Also nice, no one is made out to be a true villain, except in a really human way, so it won't ruin Cinderella for all of the fans. This book is out now, so please go read it so we can discuss!

[completely_melanie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I give this 3.75. I really enjoyed this. It reminded me a lot of the Disney Other Side of the Story books where you get the villian's side of the story and you see how these princesses were actually brats and such. Though I did really enjoy it, it is not one that I would likely read again which is why I didn't give it 4 stars.