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Rose Daughter

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 9,817 ratings · 573 reviews

"It is the heart of this place, and it is dying," says the Beast. And it is true; the center of the Beast's palace, the glittering glasshouse that brings Beauty both comfort and delight in her strange new environment, is filled with leafless brown rosebushes. But deep within this enchanted world, new life, at once subtle and strong, is about to awaken. Twenty years ago Rob...more

Hardcover, 306 pages

Published September 16th 1997 by Greenwillow Books

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Aug 12, 2007 Brownbetty rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter tells the story of Beauty and the Beast, which she has already told before, and in my opinion, better, in [Book:Beauty]. She claims she felt she had to retell the story when she learned more about roses, after cultivating them. Never have I read a book before where I felt so much like the author was simply marking time until she got to the bit with the compost. Manure provides an important climactic moment. She certainly manages to convey what roses mean to her, bu...more

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Nov 16, 2008 Nikki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fairytales

I'm not sure which of McKinley's Beauty and the Beast tellings I like better. I liked the simplicity of Beauty, but Rose Daughter is a little more grown up, and there's a little more world building, and I went a little deeper into it than with Beauty because it had more depth to go into. I enjoyed a lot of the descriptions and the bits of magic, and the foreshadowing for what actually happened at the end -- although I thought it could have done with more foreshadowing, so that the greenwitch had...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fiction-adult

I recommend this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but with a disclaimer. I don't know. I felt like the story was beautiful but its slow pacing especially in the beginning, is bound to put off some readers. For that reason I might suggest it to other adults before some teens.

I hadn't realized this is a second take on the subject for her, and as I haven't read Beauty I can't compare it. The story of Beauty and the Beast might just be my favorite fairy tale though, and compared to its original f...more

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Sep 14, 2008 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: repeat-reads

I held my breath as I clicked the mouse, selecting this book for the library to "hold" for me. Did I really want to read another obvious fairy tale reworked? Granted, I had read "Beauty" numerous times, recommended it to everyone, purchased it for myself, and was certain it was what Disney based their animated feature around. And just last year I had braved the retelling of Sleeping Beauty as "Spindle's End" and was equally entranced.

I had read alot of her other, young adult works of fiction thr...more

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Sep 13, 2007 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fairy tale fans

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult-lit, fairytale

Twenty years after Beauty, McKinley retells "Beauty and the Beast" once again. I liked this version better. The writing is beautiful and the story drew me in right away.

Beauty has few memories of her mother, who died when Beauty was very young. When her father's business fails, Beauty's family loses everything. One day, Beauty finds a will that leaves a home called Rose Cottage to her family. They leave the city, not knowing what they will find in their new home.

Beauty and her sisters, Jewelton...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Alex Criddle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: eng-356-1-12

Beauty continually has the same nightmare over and over again. She walks down a dark hallway towards a monster and as she grows older, her feelings toward the monster begin to change. Beauty lives in the city with her wealthy merchant father, her mother, and her two sisters—Lionheart and Jeweltongue. In an unexpected accident, her mother dies and soon after, her father falls into financial trouble. The three sisters and their father move to the country where an old woman has left them a small co...more Beauty continually has the same nightmare over and over again. She walks down a dark hallway towards a monster and as she grows older, her feelings toward the monster begin to change. Beauty lives in the city with her wealthy merchant father, her mother, and her two sisters—Lionheart and Jeweltongue. In an unexpected accident, her mother dies and soon after, her father falls into financial trouble. The three sisters and their father move to the country where an old woman has left them a small cottage—Rose Cottage. During their early months in their new, humble situation, the girls learn new skills and come to find happiness. After three years of life in the cottage, they receive news that one of their father’s ships arrived in the city. He goes, against his daughters’ wishes, and finds nothing left of the wealth from the ship, for debtors took everything that they were owed. On his return home, the girls’ father finds a palace where he takes shelter. When the man takes something that is precious to the Beast within the palace, Beauty’s life is changed forever. In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, McKinley weaves a tale of enchantment, discovery, and love.

This book is an amazing retelling of the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. I have read this novel before, but I did not remember what happened at the end, so when I got to it, I was pleasantly surprised. I love the sisterly bond that is created between Beauty, Lionheart, and Jeweltongue. They did not let their circumstances overcome them, but instead, rose to the occasion and became more than I think even they could have imagined. The magic that is interlaced throughout the story makes the reader feel as if she is in an enchanted palace with invisible servants; wishing for something aloud and having it appear instantly. The development of Beauty and the Beast’s relationship is subtle, but the emotions (both positive and negative) Beauty feels toward the Beast mirror the feelings of the reader. Overall, I really liked this book. Truly remarkable retellings of fairy-tales are difficult to produce, but I believe that McKinley has woven her magic touch and made this one a retelling worth visiting again and again.
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May 22, 2012 Nicole Green rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rose Daughter is one of the best fantasy books I have read in a long time. Although it is a retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story, it is one of the most well-written and the most interesting. For years I had been obsessed with Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," but now that I have read Rose Daughter I found something new to obsess about.

Compared to their Disney counterparts, the characters in Rose Daughter had much more depth to them and I found myself feeling for them a lot more whe...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read two other McKinley books and picked up this book because I've enjoyed her writing thus far. I didn't realize that Rose Daughter was another re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I was into the book, quite enjoying it right up until the part where the merchant father got word that one of his ships had made it back to port. Immediately I thought, oh no!

I only thought this because I'd already read McKinley's previous Beauty and the Beast re-telling entitled Beauty. In comparison, I liked Be...more I've read two other McKinley books and picked up this book because I've enjoyed her writing thus far. I didn't realize that Rose Daughter was another re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I was into the book, quite enjoying it right up until the part where the merchant father got word that one of his ships had made it back to port. Immediately I thought, oh no!

I only thought this because I'd already read McKinley's previous Beauty and the Beast re-telling entitled Beauty. In comparison, I liked Beauty a lot better than I liked Rose Daughter.

Rose Daughter is...complex. That's the only word that comes to mind. I won't bore anyone reading my review on what the book is about. If you've read any of the non-Disney versions of Beauty and the Beast, you'll know how this story goes.

I was reading a few reviews before I sat to write my own. I was glad to see that one reviewer said exactly what I had wanted to say on this book.

Number one complaint is that this book has absolutely, positively no conflict. Naturally, there is potential for conflict throughout the story. For example, Beauty's sister, Lionheart, dresses as a boy and gets a job as a stablehand. Certain individuals guess her identity, but keep it secret for their own purposes. In my humble opinion, I thought that McKinley could've done more about this and added something here to give the story a little kick.

Other than that, there are pages and pages of Beauty waking up. She tends the roses. They bloom. She trims dead branches away from the Beast's dying rose bushes. She encounters interesting things and creatures around the Beast's home. And so on, and so on. By the time I hit page 90 of this book, I must confess I was already getting a little bored. I was waiting for something to happen. And even when something finally did, it was already anticipated. The father takes the Beast's rose. Beast demands Beauty come in her father's place. Beauty stays with the Beast...

*Yawn.*

The only thing I have left to say is that if you decide to read McKinley's re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, pick Beauty or Rose Daughter, but not both. I've already stated I preferred her first re-telling. However, maybe you're one of those readers that like books with a lot of fluff and simple conflict. If that's the case, read this book.(less)

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Apr 01, 2012 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book as a teenager but retained no memory of it. After reading it again, I know why.

McKinley says in the afterward that she chose to revisit the Beauty and Beast story because she had more to say, especially about roses. Well, that's about all she has to say in this book. Lots about gardening, description of stuff, and cutesy-wootsy little animals. Other than that, nothing goes on in this book whatsoever.

The problem with this book is there's just no conflict. All the possible confli...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Stephanie Jobe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the author’s notes McKinley talks about how she had always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast but that after Beauty she felt that her telling of that tale was done. When I read The Blue Sword immediately after Beauty I found myself drawing parallels between the two love stories, in both cases the girl is not quite willingly or unwillingly taken away from what she knows by a man who does it even though he does not wish to hurt her. In both cases the love develops without either young hero...more In the author’s notes McKinley talks about how she had always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast but that after Beauty she felt that her telling of that tale was done. When I read The Blue Sword immediately after Beauty I found myself drawing parallels between the two love stories, in both cases the girl is not quite willingly or unwillingly taken away from what she knows by a man who does it even though he does not wish to hurt her. In both cases the love develops without either young heroine really noticing because they are struggling to find their place in this new world they have been thrust into. I may be wrong but the more I read the more I feel that at the core of all of these stories are relationships, friendships and romances, that cross boundaries even when I think of stories like Dragonhaven (that I have yet to revisit on this trip) because that is a story of love that crosses species. Eh I’ll explore that in this paper I will hopefully write sooner rather than later. I’ll get back to Rose Daughter.

Yes, Robin McKinley told the story already but it makes me think of the oral storytelling where even when told by the same speaker a story is never the same twice. I might have mentioned before reading a blog post in which McKinley discusses if she were to write another novel of Damar how different it would be from the originals because of the change in herself. I think you can see much of the same idea comparing her Beauty to Rose Daughter. Honour’s (Honour is Beauty #1′s given name. I feel this might make certain parts of my analysis confusing. I don’t suppose Thing 1 and Thing 2 is appropriate for academic writing) family had Ger and her father still remembered some work while Beauty’s family set out with nothing but a place to land. Beauty’s stay with Beast though in some ways shorter I think took much more from her. Oh and the endings! I don’t want to say too much but the first is a much fluffier happily ever after while the second, the second has much more depth and weight and is no less happy but no cherry on top. There are other differences of course, magic is uncommon in the first book and common in the second. One beauty begins not and the other does. There are also the similarities, the core thread is still there but in the second it is so much more developed. I can’t seem to not babble lately. So I will bid you farewell and dive into Spindle’s End.(less)

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Jun 21, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: beauty-and-the-beast

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This summer, I've decided to get back into my Beauty and the Beast quest, and this was what I (re)started with. There were some things I really liked about this book. I liked that although I had read Beauty by the same author, another retelling of the same story, it was not the same story. I liked that I would read about something and think to myself, "How is this relevant to anything?" and then discover much later that it was very important. This sounds weird, but I liked the speed of time. Whi...more

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May 31, 2011 Heidi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

what a mess. a slow, painful, overly descriptive mess. it took me F.O.R.E.V.E.R to get into it and then once i did, i found the story only remotely interesting. AND even that was like pulling teeth to get through.
-why does she fall in love with him? because of 6 or 7 encounters and conversations?
-what's with all the animals? and the cat that gave birth on her bed while she was sleeping? gross. burn those sheets.
-i know there had to be some allusions and whatever with all her descriptions of the...more

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May 15, 2011 Rea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fairy-tale-retellings

I underwent quiet the internal debate as to whether to give this 3 stars or 4. In the end, I felt it just didn't live up to 4, so 3 it is.

The story was interesting, I liked the character of Beauty (and I liked the two sisters - I felt that the interweaving of their stories with Beauty's was very well handled), and it was obvious that the author was very passionate about her subject: gardening.

So why 3 and not 4 stars?

Well, I found the first 25% or so of the novel really tough going. The first ch...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Angie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: belovedbookshelf, girls-who-do-things, retellings

I talk about my love for Robin McKinley's books a lot. I know everyone's read Beauty. It was her first book. It's essentially a classic of fairy tale retellings now. And I love it and will always love it for giving me a Beauty who was not beautiful and avoided mirrors at all cost and a Beast with a library of books from all the ages, including ones that hadn't even been written yet. Makes my little heart sing just thinking of it and the way I absorbed it when I was twelve. But fewer people are a...more I talk about my love for Robin McKinley's books a lot. I know everyone's read Beauty. It was her first book. It's essentially a classic of fairy tale retellings now. And I love it and will always love it for giving me a Beauty who was not beautiful and avoided mirrors at all cost and a Beast with a library of books from all the ages, including ones that hadn't even been written yet. Makes my little heart sing just thinking of it and the way I absorbed it when I was twelve. But fewer people are as familiar with Ms. McKinley's second retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast. If you have a free moment, it's really worth hopping over to her site to read the wonderful essay, "The Story Behind Rose Daughter." It's lovely. When I discovered she was returning to her favorite fairy tale twenty years later and giving it a fresh new take in an entirely new novel, my skin tingled with anticipation. And not a little curiosity at just how she would give the story she'd done so well by a fresh take and whether or not it would capture my imagination the way the original did. People seem to be very divided on their loyalties to these two books. Some would fight to the death for Beauty and don't give ROSE DAUGHTER a second glance. Others feel quite the opposite and gravitate toward the slightly more lush second version. I've listened to these conversations. As for me, my heart is big enough to love them both. And I am so glad she wrote both books. Because someone who understands and loves that particular fairy tale the way it seems she does should never stop telling it, in my opinion. I would read a third and a fourth version and I will re-read these two for the rest of my life.

Her earliest memory was of waking from the dream. It was also her only clear memory of her mother.

Beauty and her two older sisters Jeweltongue and Lionheart live with their father in the city. Their lives have been rather gentle ones, filled with plenty to eat, soft beds, and the best society has to offer. Though they lost their mother early on, they have managed to make a good life with their father, each pursuing the hobbies and talents they love, as represented by their names. Lionheart is brave and strong and loves riding and sport more than anything else. Jeweltongue knows exactly what to say in every situation, sets people at ease, and sews and embroiders the most beautiful dresses. Beauty loves nature. She loves flowers and gardens and especially roses, in all their varieties and iterations, because they remind her of her mother. Then tragedy strikes. Their father loses all his wealth and they are forced to move to tiny Rose Cottage far away in the countryside. The sisters' talents are put to good use earning what meager money they can and their lives are changed in starkly unimaginable ways. But none more than Beauty's. All her life she's had the same dream. More of a nightmare, really. In which she is walking down a long hallway, uncertain of the mystery she will find behind that final door, but dreading it all the same and filled with the terror that she will both eventually get there and not get there in time. The usual events follow and Beauty takes her father's place and finds herself living in the Beast's home, where his lovely rose garden is dying. But, of course, everything is more than meets the eye, and Beauty will, in the end, have to make the hardest decision of all.

Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts' love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the worst your life'll give you and that pours out of you when you're given the best instead.

Sigh. I love this book so much. It is, without a doubt, a more adult retelling of the fairy tale. And I don't mean that there is any potentially objectionable in it at all. I merely mean that you can feel the depth of experience and emotion in the work, which I think represents what the author brings to the tale twenty years after she first retold it. The sisters feel a bit older, a bit more mature, though I always love that McKinley represents them as loving and kind to one another and as in the whole thing together. The Beast himself feels more ancient to me, closer to the end of his long existence, and we get even more background information on how he came to be the way he was and what his interminable penance has really been like. And the love of beauty and gardens and all living things permeates the page in such a way that I, who am the most unskilled and amateur of gardeners, go looking for a spade and seeds the minute I put the book down. The language in ROSE DAUGHTER swallows me up as well. I find myself eternally charmed by the archetypal names and the various village denizens the girls encounter: Miss Trueword, Mrs. Words-Without-End, Mrs. Bestcloth. Each personality is distinct and you can tell that they each have their own vital stories playing out, even as the focus remains on Beauty and her path. Each time I read it, I relish getting lost with her in the ever-changing castle that is the Beast's home, as the words and the corridors wrap their twisty novelty around me and the heady magic that suffuses the place and the world has its way with me. The romance is wonderful and just as it should be. The magic is dense and carefully woven. And the descriptions so visual I can call them to mind on any given day, so vibrant are the impressions they made on me. And the ending, you say? Well, you shall have to find out for yourself. To me, it is perfect. I'm interested what it is to you. (less)

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Mar 25, 2011 Karly Abreu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While others have tried their hand at "Beauty and the Beast" before, and most have failed miserably, McKinley really outdoes herself in Rose Daughter. This story is heady and enchanting, a fully immersing fantasy wrapped tightly around the fairy-tale. Here, you find yourself swept away by McKinley's mysterious world, an often beautiful, sometimes unkind world of jealous socerery, finicky palaces, and strange cats. Here is a Beauty one finds themselves truly believing in, here is a Beast one fall...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I should have liked this novel better, but I didn't.

After reading McKinley's first novel on the fairy tale, Beauty, I thought it would be interesting to see what she had to say in this version, which is in many ways a separate retelling -- it's bigger, and more complex, and definitely intended for a slightly more sophisticated reader than the first. The descriptions are beautiful, and Beauty's sisters are much more interestingly developed. There's a nice background story to Beauty that rounds he...more I should have liked this novel better, but I didn't.

After reading McKinley's first novel on the fairy tale, Beauty, I thought it would be interesting to see what she had to say in this version, which is in many ways a separate retelling -- it's bigger, and more complex, and definitely intended for a slightly more sophisticated reader than the first. The descriptions are beautiful, and Beauty's sisters are much more interestingly developed. There's a nice background story to Beauty that rounds her out more as a character. There's a lot more about Beast, too, both about the curse that troubles him, and the man beneath all that hair and claw. He likes to paint on the roof by starlight, as it turns out.

But still, the story fell flat for me. Beauty was in many ways an alternate version of Rae from her vampire novel Sunshine. Put a pair of gardening shears in Rae's hands instead of cinnamon rolls, and you get the idea. Beauty isn't as frank-talking as Sunshine, and she doesn't have a biker boyfriend in the mix (sigh -- oh, Mel, how I wish there was more of you to read), but they're very similar to each other in the whole, find my secret inner strength quest . . . which sometimes works well, and sometimes (more often than not, actually, in Rose Daughter), plays a little cheesy, like a thinly veiled parable for '70's feminist rhetoric. And with Rae, we get a fantastic ending to a story that's not really an ending, prompting us (ok, me at least) to imagine hundreds of possible stories that follow it (mine always involve Con and Rae going on the road for a serious vampire ass-kicking quest). But with Beauty, we get an ending that doesn't leave much for the imagination. It wraps up a little too prettily, and I was disappointed.

My biggest disappointment, however, would be not enough Beast. I had really hoped we'd see Beauty and Beast together a lot more than McKinley's earlier novel, which we do, but not a lot transpires between them. I think we're meant to read all kinds of depth and meaning to the few touches and even fewer words they share, and that was all very nice, but it still didn't feel like enough for me to really know WHY Beauty would make the leap to fall in love with Beast. Sure, by novel's end McKinley has me convinced he's an all-around good guy in a hairy suit, but I'm not sold on why he and Beauty are so compatible, besides the whole convenience factor (she DOES know how to take care of his roses). (less)

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Aug 03, 2010 Marija rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tales-myths-legends, fantasy-sci-fi

Hmm… I’m not quite sure how to rate this book. Indeed, some parts were rather good—inventive—but as I finished, I couldn’t help feeling a little unsatisfied.

Though, I first must give McKinley credit for being able to rewrite the story and make it seem fresh and original. It doesn’t read like it’s just another retelling of an old fairytale. I like how she infused magic into this world she created. The magic of gardening… the fragility of it all—the preparations and cultivation, how the blending...more Hmm… I’m not quite sure how to rate this book. Indeed, some parts were rather good—inventive—but as I finished, I couldn’t help feeling a little unsatisfied.

Though, I first must give McKinley credit for being able to rewrite the story and make it seem fresh and original. It doesn’t read like it’s just another retelling of an old fairytale. I like how she infused magic into this world she created. The magic of gardening… the fragility of it all—the preparations and cultivation, how the blending of nature and nurture with a little attention and care can yield such wondrous beauty was a pleasure to read. Also enjoyed the idea of having sorcerers and witches living in towns, providing charms and spells to help the common folk deal with their everyday troubles, and yet also having them getting into their own scrapes in the process. And did happen to like the idea that the Beast’s castle runs on its own time, different from the outside world.

But, this is also where I believe McKinley made her error. Time runs slower at the castle: A day spent there is equivalent to a month outside its grounds. This only gives Beauty seven days for her to cultivate her feelings and love for the Beast. I can’t help but feel that that’s just not enough time for someone to develop such strong feelings, especially when for Beauty, it did only feel like that short span of time. It would’ve been better if the time factor were switched: one month at the castle equivalent to one day on the outside. This would’ve given more time for Beauty and the Beast to interact. As it stands, her recognition of her sentiments is rather sudden, since her initial feelings towards him were mostly pity and sorrow for his plight.

McKinley hardly includes any interaction between Beauty and the Beast. Beauty meets him for dinner, where they only exchange a few common pleasantries… that’s all. Later, when she discovers the artwork on the roof, he meekly admits he’s the artist, then backs away, never discussing his work, only watches and listens to her observations. This scene could have been beautiful, but it left me ultimately frustrated! McKinley, I felt, took the easy way out, describing their love for each other as more of an internal connection, than one forged by presence and communication, evidenced by the shared dreams, and parallel pain and scars (the pattern of his blood on the floor and her blood on her pillow, and the scars on each other’s hands left by the thorns of the rose). While I did find the idea of this connection interesting… that they’re two halves of the same whole: soulmates, I just wish their characters were more developed and fleshed out—that it was this along with the internal connection that finally brought them together.

Also, I couldn’t really figure out the presence of the squire’s eldest son, Jack. Initially, I thought that he might be a reincarnation of the evil, handsome sorcerer or at least was a host for some fragment of the sorcerer’s spirit, as their characters are similarly described. But at the end, nothing really comes of that connection, and I was left wondering what happened to him after that discussion in Jeweltongue's salon? To what purpose did Jack really serve in the story? I’m not sure how to answer that.

Yet, I did like how the book ended. It sort of makes sense, and reminded me of the final scenes from Jean Cocteau’s La belle et la bête. There, when the Beast makes his transformation from the familiar form to a beautiful and handsome stranger, Beauty seems to have a sorrowful almost uncomfortable look about her… a look portraying the loss of what was familiar to her, the person with whom she fell in love. McKinley seems to take that idea and twists it, giving Beauty the chance to decide how she wants her story to end.
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Feb 27, 2010 Cid Tyer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-books, favorites

Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale. I think because it was the girl - not a princess - who rescued a man trapped by his own foolishness. In the Disney version it's a prince, in McKinley's later version he is a sorcerer, and you know what? I wouldn't mind reading ten more books based on Beauty and the Beast. I'm really happy that McKinley wrote two! The Rose Daughter follows the older idea, as far as the story goes that I'm acquainted with.

The characters we all know. The...more Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale. I think because it was the girl - not a princess - who rescued a man trapped by his own foolishness. In the Disney version it's a prince, in McKinley's later version he is a sorcerer, and you know what? I wouldn't mind reading ten more books based on Beauty and the Beast. I'm really happy that McKinley wrote two! The Rose Daughter follows the older idea, as far as the story goes that I'm acquainted with.

The characters we all know. The father who was once a wealthy merchant that falls on hard times, the three daughters who are all beautiful and excel in a certain area that they are known for. In McKinley's version one is great with horses, another sews amazingly, and then there is Beauty ~ who tends roses. Now, roses in and of themselves have a character place in this book because they are crucial to the story. In Rose Daughter, roses only bloom for love or magic, so they are rare things and it is important that Beauty is good with roses. The Beast seems to me mostly unchanged in the stories because we have to like him; he almost always has to be sad or lonely or regretful, though he can also be scary and intimidating because of what he is or because of his anger or bitterness or some other cause. And then there is the magic; the magic of the house is it's own character. Over at Writing Excuses there was a bit they talked on how giving a thing or a presence the qualities of a character can be tricky, but I felt that the magic of the house - and even magic in general in this story - was a character all it's own. I found myself loving the same characters all over again because McKinley put that twist, that shine on the story.

The setting is first a very large house in a city and then Rose Cottage ~ named because of the roses, bet you didn't see that coming? Well it's still a lovely idea. There was a lot to the little village that I could see, and especially the cottage that just seemed like you knew it. And then there was the Beast's palace, which was more a character than a setting.

The plot. We all know the story. I could probably recite it in my sleep. However, McKinley wraps the history and the background around the characters so they seem almost swept up in something they cannot control. I thought that the resolution was amazing. Then again, I always like the climax of every Beauty and the Beast story... See - I have a problem! I'm addicted to Beauty and the Beast. But I really do like how the climax and resolution were particular to these characters in this setting. I also liked how the characters were happy to be where they were and the important things were kept central to their person - and here I go off talking about them as if they're real people!

So suffice it to say, I think I should collect novels based on Beauty and the Beast. I've probably read ten or so novels, but I still like them.(less)

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Nov 05, 2009 Elisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I liked most things about this book, except for the fact that the beast (*SPOILER*) remained a beast and didn't become the handsome man of the so significant portrait. I kept waiting and waiting for the moment to arrive only to have my hopes dashed by some twaddle about "I love you as you are and don't need you to change". Um... doesn't sleeping with a beast count as bestiality?

I did, however (being a flower lover) like all the descriptions of roses and the way they were such an exotic flower to...more

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Oct 30, 2009 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of my all time favorite books is "Beauty" by Robin McKinley. As you've probably guessed, it's the Beauty and the Beast story. Ten years after McKinley wrote "Beauty" she decided to re-visit that same story and write the tale again in a different sort of way..."Rose Daughter". My Mom had warned me that I'd like "Beauty" best. And she was right. But still, "Rose Daughter" was fascinating. So much deeper, more details, more background into the belief of magic. There is so much talk about roses....more

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Aug 12, 2009 Shauna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't like to read about a book before I read the book, so I came at this one kind of blind, knowing that it was the next book on my list as I work through all of McKinley's published books and also that it had something to do with the Beauty and the Beast story (again). I really wasn't expecting it to be the actual story of Beauty and the Beast (again) as she had already told that in her book Beauty, but it was. So it wasn't until I was done reading, having enjoyed the journey very much (agai...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, beach-read

I remember being at the city library when I was a teenager and staring at the rows and rows of emerald green, ruby red, and sapphire blue book spines and trying to select a book. From the center of a bookshelf, I noticed a white spine with black lettering: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast. I pulled the book off the shelf and was pulled into a magical, beautiful, lush world of fantasy and fairy tales.

About 20 years later, as an adult, I was browsing the bookshelves and I c...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Brittany rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: yafantasy

At the back of this book is a kind of apologetic note from Robin McKinley explaining why it is, exactly, that she's written another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. She explains, a bit sheepishly, that though it is her favorite fairy tale, she thought she had said all she had to say on the topic in her first book Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (which she actually didn't even mean to write in the first place). It was nice to have some insight, but I wish she hadn't sou...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Kerr rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairytale-retellings, gave-away

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 31, 2011 Karen Ireland-Phillips rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You know the story of the Beauty and the Beast. Of course you do. Disney even made a movie, right?[return]You know nothing. [return]Rose Daughter is a lyrical, fantastic and grounded retelling of the fairy tale. Three sisters, reduced by penury by their father's bankruptcy, remake their lives in a remote cottage surrounded by rose bushes.[return]The oldest daughter disguises herself and becomes a groom to work with the horses she loves, and the middle daughter discovers a passion and talent for...more

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Nov 21, 2009 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, fantasy

Reading this straight after reading Beauty was a bit of an odd experience. Having read both Rose Daughter and Beauty before, but not sequentially, I had parts of both books mixed up in my head.

Rose Daughter, having been written 20 years after Beauty is another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is more complicated than Beauty, and quite a lot more adult (not in an "adult themes" sort of way, but in the way the language is used - it's just more complicated).

The writing is lovely and Beauty and...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Rebecca Owen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tales, teen-and-young-adult, persephone-hades-beauty

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 16, 2012 Clawfoot rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did not like this book. It made very little sense, plot-wise, and I'm even now not entirely sure what the actual story was. The narrative is rambling and directionless, what tension the author tried to build in failed utterly, and the characters were more annoying than anything else. There is no curse to be broken or puzzles to be solved. There is no reason given for anything that happens, and no moral dilemmas more complex or nuanced than "choose between being shallow and cruel or being loved...more

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Oct 17, 2009 Jayme rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who loves fairy tales

Shelves: ya-books, books-i-own, fantasy

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale and I loved McKinley's Beauty which is why I picked this book up, I wanted to see how she reworked the story.

I didn't like this book as much as I liked Beauty but then again I am partial to the idea of a Beauty stuck on books rather than a Beauty stuck on gardening. However, I loved how she pulled the symbol of the rose deeper into the story and how she reworked how the Beast became what he was.

While the story itself was good, I felt that the ending...more

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Oct 03, 2009 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of my desert island books. Every time I read it I fall love with Longchance and its inhabitants all over again.

It's an interesting contrast to _Beauty_, which I think is a much more straightforward rendition of the traditional fairy tale, even though _Rose Daughter_ has more of the traditional "fairy tale" elements -- meaningful names, fantastical creatures, overt and common use of magic. It makes me sad that this version doesn't have Beauty as the traditional "reader" that she is in...more

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About Robin McKinley

Born in her mother's hometown of Warren, Ohio, Robin McKinley grew up an only child with a father in the United States Navy. She moved around frequently as a child and read copiously; she credits this background with the inspiration for her stories.

Her passion for reading was one of the most constant things in her childhood, so she began to remember events, places, and time periods by what books...more

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Quotes from Rose Daughter

“Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts' love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the worst your life'll give you and that pours out of you when you're given the best instead.” — 88 people liked it

“She laughed at him then, because he sounded like a small boy, not like a very large grown-up Beast with a voice so deep it made the hair on the back of your neck stir when you heard it. 'But vegetables are good for you,' she said, and added caressingly, 'They make you grow up big and strong.'

He smiled, showing a great many teeth. 'You see why I wish to eat no more vegetables.” — 12 people liked it

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