Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Description

“An arresting hybrid of mystery, fairy tale, and historical novel. . . . Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister isn’t easy to classify or forget.” —Detroit Free Press

We have all heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. 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 seventeenth-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. While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household–and the treacherous truth of her former life.

Far more than a mere fairy tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed–and love unveiled–in the most unexpected of places.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: Gregory Maguire
Published: 02/03/2026
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
ISBN: 9780063489653
Pages: 336
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 0.84″ H x 8.00″ L x 5.31″ W

About the Author
Maguire, Gregory: –

Gregory Maguire is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked–the beloved classic that is the basis for the blockbuster Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name and the major motion pictures–Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. His series Another Day continues the story of Oz with The Brides of Maracoor, The Oracle of Maracoor, and The Witch of Maracoor, and his other novels include A Wild Winter Swan, Hiddensee, After Alice, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. Some of his novels for children include Cress Watercress, Leaping Beauty, and Egg & Spoon, winner of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor. He lives in New England and France.