Twenty years ago, Robin McKinley dazzled readers with the power of her novel Beauty. Now this extraordinarily gifted novelist returns to the story of Beauty and the Beast with a fresh perspective, ingenuity, and mature insight. With Rose Daughter, she presents her finest and most deeply felt work--a compelling, richly imagined, and haunting exploration of the transformative power of love.
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About the Author
Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for "The Hero and the Crown" and a Newbery Honor for "The Blue Sword." Her other books include "Sunshine"; the "New York Times" bestseller "Spindle's End"; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast," "Beauty and Rose Daughter"; and a retelling of the "Robin Hood" legend, "The Outlaws of Sherwood." She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
For the second time, Robin McKinley tackles the story of Beauty and the Beast, a story that has haunted our collective cultural imagination for centuries. While I enjoyed Beauty, her first retelling, Rose Daughter is, to borrow a metaphor that unfurls behind almost every page of the book, to Beauty as a full-blown rose is to a bud. This time around, the story is deeper, darker, and multi-layered; everything, from the depiction of characters, to the plot-line, to the imagery, is more extensive. Throughout the novel, one has a delicious sense that most of the story is going on beneath the surface- only certain images, like that of the rose, float up to the top from time to time. Submerge yourself.
43 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By Ms. S. Hogan
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I was utterly absorbed and enchanted by this novel, and greatly preferred it to the author's earlier work, Beauty (which is also a retelling of the Beaty and the Beast legend). Whilst several of the other reviewers seem to have felt that it lacked charm of the earlier work, I personally found Rose Daughter to be intelligent, magical and above all, excellently written. Whilst the herione of this novel is certainly not as tom-boyish as that of the earlier work, I feel that her quality of gentleness makes her a refreshing character. In the past, I'll admit, it was usual for female protagonists to be dull and lady-like, but nowadays the "spunky" herione is just as much of a cliche. The herione of this work is a full character, not a stereotype, and so has a MIXTURE of "old-fashioned" and "modern" character traits.
I also found the ending to "Rose Daughter" supremely satisfying, since I had often wished that the story had an end which justified the moral of the story better. Robin McKinley's writing is always good, but this is my favourite of her books, apart perhaps from "Deerskin".
Perhaps the essential difference between "Rose Daughter" and "Beauty" is that "Rose Daughter" has a more mature tone, which is closer to that of "Deerskin", and whilst it may disappoint those who read "Beauty" many years ago, and who hoped unreasonably that "Rose Daughter" would be an extension or enlargement the earlier story, I found the overal effect enchanting.
The dream-like quality of the writing gives it a sense of half-hidden purposes and meanings, whilst the diffence in timings between outside and inside the beast's territory only adds to beauty and intensity of the developing love between the girl and the beast.
Frankly, I am at a loss to understand the criticism this book has recieved from other reviewers, and I would highly recommend this book to almost any reader.
I also found the ending to "Rose Daughter" supremely satisfying, since I had often wished that the story had an end which justified the moral of the story better. Robin McKinley's writing is always good, but this is my favourite of her books, apart perhaps from "Deerskin".
Perhaps the essential difference between "Rose Daughter" and "Beauty" is that "Rose Daughter" has a more mature tone, which is closer to that of "Deerskin", and whilst it may disappoint those who read "Beauty" many years ago, and who hoped unreasonably that "Rose Daughter" would be an extension or enlargement the earlier story, I found the overal effect enchanting.
The dream-like quality of the writing gives it a sense of half-hidden purposes and meanings, whilst the diffence in timings between outside and inside the beast's territory only adds to beauty and intensity of the developing love between the girl and the beast.
Frankly, I am at a loss to understand the criticism this book has recieved from other reviewers, and I would highly recommend this book to almost any reader.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
McKinley's book, "Beauty", ranks as one of my top ten favorite books, so when I heard that she had written another book on the same topic, I thought, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I decided to read it anyway and was I glad I did! Although it didn't grab my attention at first (those Pilgrim's Progress-type names threw me off and I kept comparing it to "Beauty"), it gradually sucked me in, and by the end, I was rooting for Beauty to stay with the Beast. I didn't care for certain characters (Master Jack, as one example) and was confused by the differing accounts of the curse/legend/story attached to the Rose Cottage, but overall, I enjoyed it. It did not have the dark, almost evil, overtones of McKinley's "Deerskin", which I was half-expecting, since other reviews have compared it to Donna Jo Napoli's "Zel", but it did have a few. I still like "Beauty" better, but it was well worth the read and I will now be buying my own copy for periodic rereading. However, I recommend to all readers that they find a copy of "Beauty" and read it, too, if they never have. Read them both!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
I enjoyed Beauty by the same author but found the writing in this book very saccharine. I think it is targeted more at an American audience as the dialogue jarred and felt quite... Read more
Published 8 days ago by theresa francis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great re-telling from one of my favourite authors
I have loved Robin McKinley's writing since I read The Blue Sword and then Beauty (too) many years ago. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jo Walker
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too samey
This book was good but if you are a fan of Robin McKinley you will have read beauty. This book is very similar to beauty but defiantly not as good!
Published 21 months ago by Ab24i5
2.0 out of 5 stars
Rosy yet empty
I guess there's a reason why authors rarely retell the same story twice -- it's not going to be as good one of those times. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2007 by E. A Solinas
5.0 out of 5 stars
For any one who love's romantic fanticy, read this book.
Rose daughter is one of the most beautiful books I've very read.
This vertion of the well known tale of beauty and the beast is a wonderfully expressed tale, filled with... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2006 by "fallenemily"
4.0 out of 5 stars
It was great - but...
For the majority of this novel I was stunned by it's maturity and interest, and believable characters.
However, when I got towards the end I lost interest. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2003 by M. Stoneham
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant! Better than Beauty!!
I thought that the magic and the connection that Beauty has with the garden are amazing and made this story exciting and wonderful to read. Read more
Published on 1 May 2001 by sarah@cat-city.fsnet.co.uk
3.0 out of 5 stars
No 'Beauty' here.
I felt very let down by this book, but really it was my own expectations that lead me to the fall. 'Beauty' was the most profoundly beautiful book I have ever read, and I thought... Read more
Published on 31 July 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
A favorite lovestory
As Rose Daughter deals with the classic tale of Beauty & The Beast, of course the reader has a certain presumption of what the story is going to reveal. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars
An enchanting story of the classic Beauty & the Beast
The book ,with it's beautiful descriptions and thought-out chapters, were wonderful. The only problem was that the ending lacked a certain "umph" to the story. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 1999
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