Grandfather’s Footsteps by Gillian White
This, like ‘Nasty Habits’ and ‘The Sleeper’, is not one of White’s better works. This 1994 tale of upper middle class Jessica who wants a baby to keep her shallow user lover Rudi. Her slovenly working class secretary Brenda is pregnant so Jessica comes up with a plan. Jessica however is one of those people who can never be happy and so melodrama and an idiotic ending is set in motion. This is like a bad ‘Days of Our Lives’ episode.
Best Lines:
“I thought your family were aristocrats.”
“We were, years ago,”
“Hard-faced little tarts.”
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Charm by Sarah Pinborough
This sequel to ‘Poison’ tells the story of Cinderella in a whole new way. Cinderella lives in genteel poverty with her useless father, class obsessed stepmother and smarter stepsister. Cinderella longs to go to the ball and marry the Prince. Then one day an unlikely Fairy Godmother offers her the chance to do just that. But Cinderella soon learns that magic has a cost, castles aren’t what they seem and that Princes can have dark secrets. This is a good delightful tale. I look forward to ‘Beauty’.
Best Lines:
“You will get your precious Prince should you so want him.”
“Castles are never quite as big as they seem from the outside.”
“Do what I asked of you or none of this will end well.”
“Princes are just men. Mainly not very good ones.”
“They didn’t know each other at all.”