or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
28 used & new from £0.18
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Beauty
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Beauty (Paperback)

by Robin McKinley (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
RRP: £5.99
Price: £4.28 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £1.71 (29%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Friday, November 13? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
12 new from £1.88 16 used from £0.18
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (New edition) £10.99 £9.89 27 used & new from £0.01
Paperback (Reprint) £3.64 £3.63 33 used & new from £0.76
Library Binding 4 used & new from £21.36
Turtleback 2 used & new from £252.45

Frequently Bought Together

Beauty + Sunshine + Deerskin
Price For All Three: £15.08

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Beauty by Robin McKinley

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Sunshine by Robin McKinley

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Deerskin by Robin McKinley

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Spindle's End

Spindle's End

by Robin McKinley
3.6 out of 5 stars (13)  £4.49
Deerskin

Deerskin

by Robin McKinley
4.4 out of 5 stars (52)  £4.83
The Rose Daughter

The Rose Daughter

by Robin McKinley
3.6 out of 5 stars (57)  £3.98
Sunshine

Sunshine

by Robin McKinley
4.3 out of 5 stars (47)  £5.97
Beastly

Beastly

by Alex Flinn
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £3.47
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 259 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Childrens; New edition edition (4 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552548634
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552548632
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 27,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #1 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > M > McKinley, Robin

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

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.


From the Back Cover

Beauty has always been embarrassed by her nickname - she is plain and awkward compared to her two elder sisters, Hope and Grace. But what she lacks in beauty she can perhaps make up for in courage.

When their merchant father returns from a failed business trip to the city where they once lived, he tells his daughters a strange tale: how on his way home he lost himself in a winter storm, and stumbled out of it into the summer garden of a magical castle. Innocently he picks a rose, and a fearsome Beast roars at him that his life is forfeit . . . unless one of his daughters will take his place.

He will not hear of it when Beauty declares that she will return to the castle in his stead, but she is determined to go. 'He cannot be so bad if he loves roses so much', she says. 'Cannot a Beast be tamed?'

This is a captivating retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast from an award-winning author. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
See all 2 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Beauty
67% buy the item featured on this page:
Beauty 4.9 out of 5 stars (21)
£4.28
Beastly
15% buy
Beastly 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£3.47
Sunshine
11% buy
Sunshine 4.3 out of 5 stars (47)
£5.97
Deerskin
4% buy
Deerskin 4.4 out of 5 stars (52)
£4.83
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, 6 April 2004
By Chrestomanci (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This book is a delightful retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale. However, don’t assume that you know everything there is to know about this story already. In this version, Beauty is plain compared to her two elder sisters … and the beast is more sad and mysterious than frightening or beastly.

Closer to the original French fairytale than any version so far, the style of writing has an old-fashioned charm and simplicity about it, giving you the feeling that you are reading a letter from Beauty herself describing her life at the beast’s enchanted castle.

This book would make a wonderful gift for girls aged nine to ninety!

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty-ful, 25 Feb 2007
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
The best-known and best-loved of Robin McKinley's books is also one of the best of the fairy-tale retellings -- "Beauty," a more enlightened, fully-drawn version of "Beauty and the Beast." There's a depth and a richness to the story and characterizations, as well as a beauty of atmosphere and writing.

Beauty (real name is "Honour") is the ironically-named heroine of the story -- she isn't beautiful, but is very intelligent. She has two sisters, the beautiful Hope and Grace, and a benevolent, wealthy father. Then all their lives change suddenly: the ships their father owns are lost, and the money goes with them. One of the sisters marries a poor but worthy country lad, while the other lost her beloved fiancee who captained one of the ships. After selling their possessions the family moves to the countryside.

The father leaves on a trip -- and returns with a single rose, a gift for Beauty, which carries the price of either his life or his daughter. Beauty leaves to go live at the castle of the mysterious Beast, with only her plowhorse to accompany her. She arrives at a castle of invisible servants, magical books, friendly animals, and a melancholy Beast who asks her to marry him every evening...

There is nothing new in fairy tale retellings now, but when McKinley first wrote "Beauty," it was a relative rarity. And even now, few of them are as intelligently written and have such solid heroines. Rather than giving her story a contrived "twist," McKinley merely fleshes out the storyline and gives the characters personalities.

The writing is excellent; McKinley writes the more prosaic passages of cottage life and the surrounding friendly village, as well as the more dreamlike, fantastical scenes in the Beast's castle. Lots of atmosphere, either in the poor but warm surroundings of the house, or the eerie feel of the castle.The dialogue is nearly flawless: McKinley doesn't write ye-olde-formal prose, but the characters never sound -- or think -- like modern Americans.

Beauty is a great heroine -- brainy, kind, wry-humored, brave and strong. Though the "Beauty" element is discarded, it is done so with the apparent understanding that this "Beauty" has brains and guts rather than a pretty face. The Beast himself is a little more shadowy; we never get inside his head the way we do Beauty's, but then the book is hers, not his. Beauty's father and sisters are equally well-done, avoiding the cliches of nastiness in favor of being likable or haunted.

Robin McKinley's debut "Beauty" is still among the best-loved fairy-tale retellings. With the help of a gutsy, brainy heroine, it rises above a mere retelling and becomes THE retelling.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty, 2 Sep 2006
By amyangel (Staffordshire, UK) - See all my reviews
This book is really great, and really brings the story alive - I liked the disney film when I was younger, but this is much better and I think it's more like the traditional version!! And, it's definately a story that you will read over and over and still enjoy it.

I would recommend it to everyone!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars retelling of beauty and the beast
At first a little heavy on description but in the end I enjoyed the story.
Published 2 months ago by Michael R. Osborne

5.0 out of 5 stars The beautiful take on beauty and the beast.
Retelling the story of beauty and the beast

When beauty's father shelters from a storm after visiting there old home in the city, the castle was more than welcoming... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2007 by emjem

5.0 out of 5 stars Review Of "Beauty"
This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It conjured up every emotion I have ever felt, at one point it almost felt as if my heart was being broken as well as the... Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2007 by Mr. Nicholas S. A. Gibbons

4.0 out of 5 stars A romantic fantasy fairytale!
Before I go any further, I have to tell you that this is a book for girls... girls only! This is a romantic re-telling of that old favourite "Beauty and the Beast"... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2007 by S. Barnes

5.0 out of 5 stars Most beautiful book
'Beauty' was one of the best books I have ever read! I found it slightly confusing towards the end, but the descriptions throughout were beautiful and the images it created in my... Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2006 by Jen

5.0 out of 5 stars A BRILLIANT story
'Beaty,' is fantastic. I enjoyed it so much. I usually find it diffcult to re-read books I have read before, but I don't think I will find it difficult to read this again. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2005 by Maidie

5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty, what a perfect name for a beautiful book!
This is a wonderful read and it sets a wonderful twist to the original classic fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars A truely amazing book!
This book is a true gem, and I would recomend it to anyone, of any age. I would definately favour it above "Rose Daughter", which, although is a very good book, just doesn't have... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2003 by carolyn00

5.0 out of 5 stars enchanting...
Beauty is a re telling of the story of Beauty and the Beast... but better as it is believable! I am sure Disney read this when producing his animated version of this story. Read more
Published on 5 Jun 2003 by MRS A.P. MOORE

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, romantic but not overly so: an enjoyable read
Beauty is a retelling of the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. It follows the original quite closely, which is similar to the modern Disney version, but with more detail,... Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2002

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.