For a long time, I’ve wanted to read a retelling by Melanie Cellier. She’s retold most of the popular fairy tales and a few of the ones rarely retold (e.g. “Swan Lake” and “The Princess and the Pea”). I wondered how she would approach a Snow White retelling after writing so many. A Dream of Ebony and White is the fourth retelling in her Beyond the Four Kingdoms series. And Snow White has, of course, been done so many times. How could she compare?
Turns out, A Dream of Ebony and White is a highly-engaging novel starring the one known as The-Fairest-Of-Them-All. Where it distinguishes itself, in my mind, is its lack of magic. While mystical artifacts and fairies appear within its pages, for the most part magic exists on the edges of this tale, not front and center where you’d expect it. This grounds the fairy tale with a more realistic tone than most other Snow White offerings, which helps to set Dream apart.
Young Blanche, whose nickname is Snow White, finds her mother-in-law has usurped her throne by sheer force of will. In order to ensure Snow White never becomes queen, her stepmother orders her killed. Snow White and a companion flee with the queens’ soldiers close on their heels. Starting the novel with a familiar plot point and turning it into an action-adventure was a wise choice.
The story continues in much the way you’d expect it, and at the same time, in completely unique ways. The “dwarfs” show up earlier than most other retellings, and their reimagining is brilliant. The scenes showing Snow White progressing from pampered princess to regent, and the misperceptions she must overcome, were also interesting. And is there a love interest, you ask? Of course, there is.
The entire original fairy tale is here. Cellier cleverly integrates the Grimm ending with the more well-known version. The way it comes together in the end is inspired.
Complex characters, bucolic settings, and exciting pace fill A Dream of Ebony and White with all the magic fantasy readers love even in a fantasy book even if the world has very little actual magic.