Mirror Mirror : A Novel

“Entertaining...profound....A novel for adults that unearths our buried fascination with the primal fears and truths fairy tales contain.” —Christian Science MonitorThe acclaimed author who re-imagined a darker, more dangerous Land of Oz in his New York Times bestselling series The Wicked Years, offers a brilliant reinvention of the timeless Snow White fairy tale. Setting the story amid the cultural, political and artistic whirlwind of Renaissance Italy—and casting the notorious Lucrezia Borgia as the Evil Queen—Mirror Mirror will enthrall a wide array of book lovers ranging from adult fans of Harry Potter to readers of the sophisticated stories of Angela Carter.The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm -- and the world comes to Montefiore.In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia -- decadent children of a wicked pope -- no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest, he leaves Bianca under the care -- so to speak -- of Lucrezia.She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest salvation can be found as well ...A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror gives fresh life to the classic story of Snow White -- and has a truth and beauty all its own.

the Year Is 1502, And Seven-year-old Bianca De Nevada Lives Perched High Above The Rolling Hills And Valleys Of Tuscany And Umbria At Montefiore, The Farm Of Her Beloved Father, Don Vicente. One Day A Noble Entourage Makes Its Way Up The Winding Slopes To The Farm—and The World Comes To Montefiore. In The Presence Of Cesare Borgia And His Sister, The Lovely And Vain Lucrezia—decadent Children Of A Wicked Pope—no One Can Claim Innocence For Very Long. When Borgia Sends Don Vicente On A Year's Quest To Reclaim A Relic Of The Original Tree Of Knowledge, He Leaves Bianca Under The Care, So To Speak, Of Lucrezia. She Plots A Dire Fate For The Young Girl In The Woods Below The Farm, But In The Dark Forest There Can Be Found Salvation As Well. . . .

a Lyrical Work Of Stunning Creative Vision, mirror Mirror Gives Fresh Life To The Classic Story Of Snow White—and Has A Truth And Beauty All Its Own.

publishers Weekly

maguire Has A Lock On Clever, Elaborate Retellings Of Fairy Tales, Turning Them Inside Out And Couching Them In Tongue-in-cheek Baroque Prose. After His Revisionist Takes On Oz's Wicked Witch Of The West (wicked) And Cinderella's Ugly Stepsisters (confessions Of An Ugly Stepsister), He Now Tackles Snow White. The Notorious Borgia Habit Of Poisoning Rivals Inspired Him To Transplant The Classic Tale To 16th-century Tuscany, Where Vicente De Nevada Is An Expatriate Spanish Widower Who Lives With His Daughter, The Fair Bianca. Beholden To Sinister Cesare Borgia And Cesare's Sister (and Perhaps Lover) Lucrezia, Vicente Is Sent On What Appears To Be A Fool's Errand, To Discover And Steal From A Middle East Monastery A Branch Of The Tree Of Knowledge Complete With Three Apples. When Bianca Is 11, Cesare's Attraction To Her Causes The Envious Lucrezia To Order A Young Hunter To Murder Her And Deliver Her Heart In A Casket. Bianca, Of Course, Is Spared And Taken In By Seven Dwarfs. But This Is Not Disney; The Dwarfs Are Boulders, Stirred To Life By Bianca's Arrival (a Clothed, Bearded Obstinacy Became Slowly Apparent). Several Years Pass In Surreal, Dreamlike Fashion, With Bianca Tending To The Dwarfs, Who Cavort Stiffly And Philosophize Collectively. When Vicente Returns Successful, Lucrezia Poisons An Apple For Her Rival. Innocent Bianca's Fate Is Gentle, But That Of The Corrupt Lucrezia, In Brilliant Venice, Is Appropriately Grotesque. Fairy Tales In Their Original Form Are Often Brutal And Disturbing; With His Rich, Idiosyncratic Storytelling, Maguire Restores The Edge To An Oft-told Tale And Imbues It With A Strange, Unsettling Beauty. (oct. 14) Forecast: The Near-simultaneous Release Of This Book And The Opening Of The Big-budget Musical Version Of Wicked On Broadway Will Likely Land Maguire In The Media Spotlight. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

E-Book Extra: “Little Snow-White” by the Brothers Grimm (read the original version of the classic fairy tale)Think you know who's the fairest of them all? Think again. Bestselling re-imaginer of classic fairy tales sets the Snow White story in Renaissance Italy, where the madly vain Lucrezia Borgia plots a dire fate for seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada (a.k.a. Snow White).A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror is set in Renaissance Italy, where Gregory Maguire draws a connection between the poison apple in the original Snow White story and the Borgia family's well-known appetite for poisoning its foes.In Mirror Mirror Snow White is called Bianca de Nevada. She is born on a farm in Tuscany in 1495, and when she is seven, her father is ordered by the duplicitous Cesare Borgia to go on a quest to reclaim the relic of the original Tree of Knowledge, a branch bearing three living apples that are thousands of years old. Bianca is left in the care of her father's farm staff and the beautiful -- and madly vain -- Lucrecia Borgia, Cesare's sister. But Lucrecia becomes jealous of her lecherous brother's interest in the growing child and plots a dire fate for Bianca in the woods below the farm. There Bianca finds herself in the home of seven dwarves -- the creators of the magic mirror -- who await the return of their brother, the eighth dwarf, long gone on a quest of his own.In the evocative style of Maguire's earlier novels, Mirror Mirror is a fresh, compelling take on a beloved classic tale. The world was called Montefiore, as far as she knew, and from her aerie on every side all the world descended. The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. There she spends her days cosseted by Primavera Vecchia, the earthy cook, and Fra Ludovico, a priest who tends to their souls between bites of ham and sips of wine. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm - and the world comes to Montefiore. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia - decadent children of a wicked pope - no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest to reclaim a relic of the original Tree of Knowledge, he leaves Bianca under the care - so to speak - of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest there can be found salvation as well ... The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say. A retelling of "Snow White" set in Renaissance Italy draws a link between the original fairy tale and the Borgia family's infamous practice of poisoning its enemies FROM THE arable river lands to the south, the approach to Montefiore appears a sequence of relaxed hills.