The End Of The Fairy Tale Bride

Miranda will do anything to advance true love, even if it means confronting the man whose disapproval is keeping her dear brother from making a romantic match. But Miranda's impetuous meeting with the Duke of Kerstone has a far different outcome than she intended. Suddenly, the champion of fairy tale endings becomes a bride herself.

Wedding folklorist and costume historian Cornelia Powell, along with her insightful way of looking at the life of Princess Diana, forms a captivating view into the world of brides and ceremony, of fairy tales and princess myths. "The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: For Better or Worse, How Princess Diana Rescued the Great White Wedding"—this first volume of irresistible stories—combines bridal mythology, fashion history, goddess legends, royal ceremonies, and a bit of cosmic mystery with the life of the world's most famous celebrity and the ultimate princess bride. The author has a singular perspective on Princess Diana's influence on weddings including their complement of womanly rituals. On the gilded wave following Diana's royal wedding in 1981—reinventing an outdated bridal industry and bringing weddings back into high-style—Cornelia created a store for the new woman emerging that decade…a design haven for this "grown-up bride." And her invitation over the years to all those brides-to-be, “don't settle for being a princess for a day, be a goddess for a lifetime,” shapes the heart of this book. Called “such an intimate experience from which the reader emerges transformed,” the book wraps its narrative inside the heart-opening legacy of an archetypal princess who changed our notion of 'happily ever after', who ended the myth of the fairy-tale bride, and who opened a tender pathway to love for those she left behind.

Wedding fever has hit the little town of Marietta… Lisa Renee loves weddings. As owner of Marietta’s bridal salon, Lisa takes charge when a celebrity wedding rolls into town and does what she does best: hosting the fairy tale wedding her clients dream of. But the celebrity’s badly behaving bridesmaids shatter Lisa’s poise, excitement, and hopes of putting Marietta and her boutique on the map. The only place she can find peace is on the pediatric ward of the local hospital where she volunteers, a place that holds more meaning to her than anyone knows. Leave it to the handsome and charming new doctor to change all of that… Dr. Adam Brady is enjoying his new job and anonymity at Marietta’s hospital, but he hasn’t been able to focus entirely since the gorgeous business owner and hard-working volunteer piqued his interest. As he spends more time with her, sparks fly, and he realizes that he’s not the only one in Marietta with secrets…

A CHAPEL OF LOVE SHORT STORY After a very public career disaster, journalist Jeff Talbert-Lyndon wants to escape from the world. Picturesque Shenadoah Falls, Virginia, seems like the perfect place to relax and regroup before heading back to real life. But when he discovers the charming bookstore Secondhand Prose - and its lovely, slightly overwhelmed owner- he finds a part-time job and a very tempting reason to stay... Melissa Portman is fighting a losing battle when it comes to saving her grandmother's store - and selling the historic building may be her only option. Yet when a handsome stranger wanders in one day, she wonders if her very own fairytale is just beginning... 21,500 words

Upon her father's death, Nesrin made a vow never to use her magic. But years later, living under the abuse of her step-mother, she breaks said vow and casts three wishes. One for wealth. Another for freedom. And a third for love. The magic is tricky and soon Nesrin finds herself wed to a nomadic king and cast into a new life full of mystery and intrigue. But just when she figures out her place in the world, the consequences of her wishes demand payment and she realizes the price of magic may cost her everything. . . Bride of the King is the sixth tale in a series of adult fairy tales blending fantasy action-adventure with steamy romance. Each short story can be read as a stand-alone and features a different couple.

When Princess Rose is sold in marriage to a repulsive brute, only one person can save her: Prince Dustan, the suitor she hoped for, and the one her father didn't choose. But Rose learns that Dustan harbors a secret: he may not be a prince? or human.With nowhere else to turn, Rose follows Dustan into the forest. She hopes to hide from both her fiancé and her father. But can Rose trust Dustan? Or will his hidden agenda prove even more perilous than the marriage he helped her escape?

New approaches to decenter Eurocentric perspectives in fairy tales and lift up storytelling cultures across the globe.

A CBC BOOKS BEST NONFICTION OF 2020 AN ENTROPY MAGAZINE BEST NONFICTION 2020/21 A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BOOK OF THE DAY (07/23/2022) Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty? If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference. "Historically we have associated the disabled body image and disabled life with an unhappy ending” – Sue Carter, Toronto Star "Leduc persuasively illustrates the power of stories to affect reality in this painstakingly researched and provocative study that invites us to consider our favorite folktales from another angle." – Sara Shreve, Library Journal "She [Leduc] argues that template is how society continues to treat the disabled: rather than making the world accessible for everyone, the disabled are often asked to adapt to inaccessible environments." – Ryan Porter, Quill & Quire "Read this smart, tenacious book." – The Washington Post "A brilliant young critic named Amanda Leduc explores this pernicious power of language in her new book, Disfigured … Leduc follows the bread crumbs back into her original experience with fairy tales – and then explores their residual effects … Read this smart, tenacious book." – The Washington Post "Leduc investigates the intersection between disability and her beloved fairy tales, questioning the constructs of these stories and where her place is, as a disabled woman, among those narratives." – The Globe and Mail "It gave me goosebumps as I read, to see so many of my unexpressed, half-formed thoughts in print. My highlighter got a good workout." – BookRiot "Disfigured is not just an eye-opener when it comes to the Disney princess crew and the Marvel universe – this thin volume provides the tools to change how readers engage with other kinds of popular media, from horror films to fashion magazines to outdated sitcom jokes." – Quill & Quire “It’s an essential read for anyone who loves fairy tales.” – Buzzfeed Books "Leduc makes one thing clear and beautifully so – fairy tales are fundamentally fantastic, but that doesn’t mean that they are beyond reproach in their depiction of real issues and identities." – Shrapnel Magazine "As Leduc takes us through these fairy tales and the space they occupy in the narratives that we construct, she slowly unfolds a call-to-action: the claiming of space for disability in storytelling." – The Globe and Mail "A provocative beginning to a thoughtful and wide-ranging book, one which explores some of the most primal stories readers have encountered and prompts them to ponder the subtext situated there all along." – LitHub "a poignant and informative account of how the stories we tell shape our collective understanding of one another.” – BookMarks "What happens when we allow disabled writers to tell stories of disability within fairytales and in magical and supernatural settings? It is a reimagining of the fairytale canon we need. Leduc dares to dream of a world that most stories envision is unattainable." – Bitch Media