Lady Tremaine - Rachel Hochhauser

Lady Tremaine

By Rachel Hochhauser

  • Release Date: 2026-03-03
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 200 Ratings

Description

Instant New York Times Bestseller • REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • IndieNext Pick • LibraryReads Pick

"With transporting prose and a galloping plot, this wholly original take on Cinderella recasts the wicked stepmother...a riveting, complex paean to women's strength." —People (Book of the Week) • "Destined to be one of the biggest books of the year." —Glennon Doyle, #1 bestselling author of Untamed • "Breathtakingly beautiful." —Emilia Hart, bestselling author of Weyward

Twice-widowed, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor. Fierce and determined, Ethel clings to the respectability her deceased husband’s title affords her, hoping it will secure her daughters’ future through marriage.

When a royal ball offers the chance to change everything, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of her daughters—only to see her hopes fulfilled by the wrong one. As an 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 wellbeing of the stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.

As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the world’s most famous fairy tale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

Reviews

  • A real story.

    5
    By Jamjm
    Being a Cinderella fan, I loved it! A real story about all kinds of love; family, motherly, animals and life.
  • Loved it.

    5
    By 🙄naked in manhattan
    Visceral, hard to put down.
  • A new twist to an age old fairytale - a must read!

    5
    By Photogal1
    I picked up this book thinking I would read yet another fairy tale of Cinderella that sounded familiar. I was wrong! This story will have you on the edge of your seat wanting to find out what happens. An excellent book that will leave you wanting this writer to take more fairy tales and weave them into stories with more vivid characters and plots.
  • Brilliant work

    5
    By MaeveG
    Though this is her first published novel, it clearly demonstrates that Rachel Hochhauser has a gift for breathing not only life but soul into her work. Again and again, I found myself relating to Etheldreda on a visceral level - her struggles with women’s roles in society, her powerful yet controlled reactions to the painful reality of life in hidden poverty, and her deep feelings as a mother and stepmother. This telling is not without flaws, but it has enough strength to carry it over those pitfalls. Be prepared for a fantasy tale, as the ‘history’ is quite free and loose here. But that’s what we came for, right? A greatly improved Cinderella story, one with teeth and bones and genuine feeling. Lady Tremaine does not disappoint!