Cinderella Is Dead

In the kingdom of Mersailles, the tale of Cinderella dictates your life. Girls must attend the royal ball when they are sixteen, and if they are not chosen by a husband, their lives are forfeited. But Sophia doesn’t want a husband, and she doesn’t want to be controlled by a fairy tale. Instead, she sets out on a mission to end the regime and discover the truth about Cinderella and her prince.

Cinderella Is Dead uses the question, “How do the stories we read as children shape how we see the world?” as the foundation for its worldbuilding. Cinderella’s romance with the prince is the ideal which those in Mersailles must strive for, and so same sex relationships are forbidden. This particular aspect of the fairy tale drives much of Sophia’s rebellion at the start of the novel, as she tries in vain to convince her girlfriend to flee with her.

I thought this was an interesting approach to a fairy tale retelling. Rather than cast LGBTQIA+ characters inside the Cinderella story itself, the novel points out the consequences of their absence, shows the importance of questioning the narratives one takes for granted, and suggests a way to create new, truer narratives.

Bayron’s writing shines the most when the focus shifts to individual scenes that show either the horrific cruelty exercised by Mersailles’s leadership on its people, or the sweet and tender intimacy between Sophia and her two female love interests. Bayron masterfully brings the reader into the action and the emotions of the characters. It is an intense experience, but a captivating one.

Cinderella Is Dead is an ambitious novel with much potential. I look forward to reading what Bayron writes next.

Camille Boelt Hindsgaul