All the Ever Afters

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COMPELLING FICTION OFTEN OBSCURES THE HUMBLE TRUTH . . .We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, privately records the true story—her own. A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice at Aviceford Manor when she is just ten years old. Alone, friendless, and burdened with a grueling workload, Agnes carves a place for herself in this cold place that is home to Sir Emont Vis-de-Loup, a melancholic and capricious drunkard.Using her wits and ingenuity, Agnes eventually escapes and makes her way toward a more hopeful future, serving as a housemaid for the powerful Abbess Elfilda. But life once again holds unexpected, sometimes heartbreaking twists that ultimately lead Agnes back to Aviceford Manor, where she soon becomes nursemaid to Ella, Emont’s sensitive, otherworldly daughter. Though she cares for Ella, Agnes struggles to love this child, who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies all our unattainable fantasies. Familiar yet fresh, tender as well as bittersweet, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, and reveals that beauty is not always desirable, that love may take on many guises, and that freedom is not always something we can choose.