| Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Robin McKinley |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publication date | 25 October 1978 |
| Media type | Print () |
| ISBN | 978-0060241490 |
| OCLC Number | 4037372 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.5/4 398.2 |
| LC Classification | PZ8.M1793 Be 1978 |
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast was first published in 1978 by children's book author Robin McKinley. It was her first book, retelling the classic French fairy tale La Belle et La Bete. The book was the 1998 Phoenix Award honor book.[1] It was the 1966-1988 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults (ALA). It is also on the 1979 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book), and on the 1979 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library).
Contents |
Beauty is the youngest of three daughters of a wealthy merchant, Roderick Huston. Her given name is Honour, but after her father tried to explain the meaning of her name when younger, she said that she'd rather be called "Beauty". The nickname has stuck since then. As she grows older, she feels increasingly ill-named as her sisters, Grace and Hope, become lovelier and more socially adept. Soon Grace becomes engaged to one of her father's ship captains, Robert Tucker, and Hope later marries a blacksmith named Gervain Woodhouse. Robert becomes lost at sea only a few months after their engagement along with all of Huston's ships and with them, the family's fortune. Destitute, the family relocates to Gervain's home town in the north to begin afresh.
Almost a year later, they receive news of one of Huston's ships arriving back into port. Huston prepares to make the long journey alone to sell the ship's cargo. Before he leaves he asks his daughters if they want any gifts; Grace and Hope jokingly request expensive gifts, while Beauty asks only for a rose cutting or seeds for the garden. Huston returns home sooner than everyone expects with a beautiful rose, looking much worse for wear. Once he regains his strength, he tells everyone that on his return from town, he was caught in a blizzard a few miles from home and lost his way in the forest, stumbling across a mysterious castle as he and his mount came to the end of their strength.
Huston was given shelter for the night and waited on by invisible servants. As he left the next day he found a beautiful garden and plucked one rose to bring home to Beauty. The owner of the castle, a great beast, appeared before him furious for the theft and ready to kill him for his crime. The man begged for his life, pleading that he had daughters to return to. The Beast decided to let him go if he returned in one month with one of his daughters, assuring him that she would not be harmed and live safely with him in his castle. Despite her family's pleas, Beauty insists that she be the one to go in her father's place.
As the months pass, Beauty comes to enjoy living in the castle. There are only two problems: she misses her family and every night the Beast asks her to marry him. Every night she answers no, but as they become close, Beauty feels bad for hurting the Beast even though she cannot bring herself to do what he asks. One night, the Beast again proposes marriage and Beauty states that she cannot marry him but hates constantly refusing him. Later, Beauty asks when she will be allowed to return home, thinking her imprisonment is only a brief punishment for her father's theft. The Beast reveals to her that he cannot let her go because he can't live without her. Upon hearing this Beauty goes into shock and faints. She awakens in the arms of the Beast and flees to her room, too terrified to listen when he tries to tell her that she unconsciously refused to let go of him when he caught her.
Beauty's dreams of her family become even more vivid and detailed than before. The Beast reveals that he sends the dreams to her to comfort her. He also shows her a magic mirror that allows her to watch them. Through the mirror, Beauty sees Grace make the decision to accept a proposal of marriage from a minister in the town; she still loves Robert though her family is telling her she should move on. The mirror reveals that Robert is alive and has only recently returned from the disastrous wreckage. Beauty begs to see her family one last time to tell Grace the news, promising to return in a week and stay with the Beast forever afterwards. The Beast reluctantly allows her to go, hinting that he will not be able to live without her if she does not return in time. Beauty's family is overjoyed at her return though disheartened to hear that she will only stay with them for a short time. Beauty tells her family about her time in the castle and convinces them that the Beast is not the monster that they have feared. She also tells Grace that Robert is alive. During the days without the Beast, Beauty begins to recognize how she truly feels about the Beast, proclaiming him to be even dearer to her than her family.
When Beauty stays a day longer than planned at her family's behest she dreams that the Beast has died in her absence. She tries to return to the Beast but gets lost in the woods. After finding her way back Beauty discovers the Beast nearly dead, but is able to revive him. Realizing how close she came to losing him Beauty confesses her love for the Beast and tells him that she will marry him. In an instant the enchantment on the Beast and the castle is broken. The Beast is returned to his human form, explaining to the astonished Beauty about how he was cursed for being cruel and arrogant. He tells her that he could only break the spell if someone agreed to marry him despite his appearance. Beauty is reunited with her family and the novel ends with Beauty and her prince walking out to meet everyone, excited to start their new life together.
ALA Booklist has called it "a captivating novel," and Publishers Weekly has called it "a splendid story."[2]
