Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

MAGUIRE, Gregory. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. Illustrations by Bill Sanderson. [NY]: Regan Books/HarperCollins [1999]. 8vo, xvi 368pp. Color pictorial boards. Mustard endpapers; 5 full-page b&w illustrations. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket with die-cut cover revealing binding illustration beneath. Signed by the author, Gregory Maguire, with a large drawing of a pumpkin.

First edition. We all have heard the story of Cinderella, but what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks. Set against the rich backdrop of 17th-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. Maguire's second novel for adults, issued a few years after Wicked.