'Feminist, fierce, and wildly fresh. Hochhauser's prose is poetic, her story hypnotic, and her characters will live in my head and heart forever. Lady Tremaine is destined to be one of the biggest books of the year' GLENNON DOYLE

Everyone said she was wicked.

Now Cinderella’s stepmother tells her own story…

“We women were born and bred to expect marriage, and it all happened when we were too young to know better.”

After the death of her second husband, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two daughters, Ana and Griselda, her simpering stepdaughter Elin, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor buried in the woods.

When a royal ball offers the chance to change their fortunes, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of girls – only for her hopes to be fulfilled by the wrong one: Elin.

Yet as her stepdaughter’s engagement to the future king unfolds, Ethel discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she craves and the wicked stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn…

Bridgerton meets Circe in this breathtaking reimagining of one of the world's most iconic fairytales, Cinderella. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

Praise for Lady Tremaine

"Both intimate and epic in scope, Lady Tremaine shatters our preconceptions of a famous fairy tale villain, presenting instead a mesmerizing portrait of a woman who discovers that real enchantment comes from daring to rewrite your own destiny. With spellbinding prose and haunting moral complexity, Rachel Hochhauser excavates the heart of a timeless story, revealing the profound humanity that exists in the spaces between good and wicked. This stunning debut dares to ask what happens when a mother's fierce love collides with the cruel machinery of power and privilege in a world that offers women impossible choices" Kimberly King Parsons

"LADY TREMAINE left me in awe. Breathing new life into a timeless fairy tale, this is the story of a complex, resilient mother who demonstrates that love does not always come naturally: it is often built on difficult choices. A must-read for anyone who believes in the power of second chances, the nuances of motherhood, and the ways in which strength evolves through adversity. Hochhauser's storytelling is a poignant reminder that even fairy tale villains have a story worth telling. My favorite read of the year so far!" Sarah Penner

"Wit, wisdom, poetry on every page. Hochhauser brilliantly takes a classic from a shelf and reads from it in a voice that's both hauntingly familiar and crisp in contemporary understanding. Her reappraisal of the cages we build for ourselves--in marriage and in love--reveals the freedom we possess, if only we'd look up and wait patiently for the hunting hawk's heart to return to our outstretched arm. Amazing work." Mark Richard

"Rachel Hochhauser's prose is a gift. LADY TREMAINE is one of the best novels I've read in a long time--for its sentences, for its grace, and for its originality. I haven't stopped thinking about it. I am envious of any reader picking up this book for the first time." Olivia Clare Friedman