The book I'm writing about today is Mette Ivie Harrison's The Princess and the Hound, which is described as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a fascinating twist- the "beast" is a woman. With an intriguing catch phrase like that, I couldn't help but pick it up and take it home.
As with any classic fairy tale, there's a princess. Her name is Beatrice, raised by her father, who was rather barbaric at times, and she is beautiful not as most typical fair-haired, blue eyed, delicate fairy tale princesses are. She was described as beautiful in her strength and uniqueness, with her fiery red hair and freckles. Lonely except for her loyal sort-of pet hound, Beatrice is not the kind of princess you expect. She remains quite mysterious for much of the novel.
And then, of course, you have the prince. He's described as young and handsome, of course, but once again he is not necessarily the confident, daring fairy tale hero you expect. The book is written from his perspective, and follows his childhood, so we get more of an inside look. It's obvious that Prince George is unsure and often afraid, although we get to watch him grow and mature as a character.
At times, it seems they're total opposites, marrying only for duty, and you might wonder if they will ever get along properly.
This one's been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, but I finally got around to opening it up last week, and then sped through it in about a day and a half. I couldn't put it down!
I will admit, I spent the first half of the book rather confused. I wondered when and how Beauty and the Beast would come into the story, when it almost felt that the plot was heading in an entirely different direction that what I'd expected.
And then, when I finally did understand the proclaimed tie in to the classic fairy tale, I almost didn't think it fit. Animals definitely feature very prominently throughout the novel, and different perspectives on them are offered from different characters. As an animal lover myself, I found it easy to relate. Still, to me, it wasn't Beauty and the Beast. Yes, there were some obvious similarities, as you will understand if you do decide to take my suggestion and read this book, but what I found was that The Princess and the Hound didn't feel like yet another retelling of a classic story.
It felt like a new story, a new classic, all it's own. It wasn't piggybacking off of the appeal of the original, it had a different appeal, all it's own. Even though I picked this book up expecting a retelling of a story I already knew, I was not at all disappointed to find I knew nothing of where the plot was taking me.
Fans of fantasy, fairy tales, and of course, romance, will definitely enjoy this book. It had great characters, a wonderfully complex plot, and a wonderful perspective on animals. And. there's a sequel (make that a whole series, as I've just discovered), so there's even more to love.
