Beauty

When the family business collapses, Beauty and her two sisters are forced to leave the city and begin a new life in the countryside. However, when their father accepts hospitality from the elusive and magical Beast, he is forced to make a terrible promise - to send one daughter to the Beast's castle, with no guarantee that she will be seen again. Beauty accepts the challenge, and there begins an extraordinary story of magic and love that overcomes all boundaries. This is another spellbinding and emotional tale embroidered around a fairytale from Robin McKinley, an award-winning American author.

Beauty and the Beast, retold by a plain but captivating heroine * The Times * A love story for teenagers that marries realism and fantasy with satisfying imagination, elegance of prose and thoughtful characterisation. McKinley's Beauty is more than skin deep * The Sunday Times * McKinley adds delightful touches of her own . . . * The Guardian * Beauty is a classic reworking of a classic, McKinley wraps it all up together alluringly * T.E.S. * From an award winning author comes this brilliant re-telling which rivals the original * The Good Book Guide *.

Reviews

Robin McKinley is an American writer and has won many awards in the US, including the Newbery Medal for THE HERO AND THE CROWN and a Newbery Honor for THE BLUE SWORD. She now lives in Hampshire with her husband, author Peter Dickinson, three whippets, five hundred rose bushes and a 1965 cream-coloured MGB convertible.