Strands of Bronze and Gold

by Jane Nickerson Narrated by Caitlin Prennace

Overview

The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . .

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram's beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation-on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting-from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it's as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives-all with hair as red as her own-in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she's trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac's intoxicating world.

Glowing strands of romance, mystery, and suspense are woven into this breathtaking debut-a thrilling retelling of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

After Sophia Petheram is orphaned, she is taken in by her fabulously rich and handsome godfather, Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, who wants only to please and spoil her. It’s the stuff of fairy tales, quite literally in this case: debut author Nickerson is retelling Perrault’s Bluebeard story. While familiarity with that tale diminishes some of the suspense and leaves readers ahead of 17-year-old Sophia, it also affords the pleasure of seeing how this version plays out. Nickerson makes smart use of a lush, eerie antebellum Mississippi setting to add tension: one of the things that bothers Boston-born Sophia is the way Monsieur Bernard treats his slaves. And then there are the ghosts of his former wives—all redheads, just like Sophia—and her godfather’s increasingly obvious sexual interest in her. Although the book moves leisurely, it effectively blends the fairytale world with the realities of Sophia’s powerlessness: she’s underage, impoverished, and female. All of which makes her luck, determination, and eventual triumph all the more rewarding. Ages 14–up. Agent: Wendy Schmalz, Wendy Schmalz Agency. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

USA Today "Happy Ever After", March 19, 2013:
"Even if you've never read Blue Beard's tale, you'll enjoy Strands of Bronze and Gold. Sophie is a very likable character, and readers will soon find themselves caught up in the intrigue and mystery right along with her...I'm glad, too, that Sophie was no shy submissive heroine. She's brave, intelligent and looks through the glamour. The Mirk and Midnight Hour is set to release in March 2014 and is about the legend of the Ballad of Tam Lin. The writing is excellent, and the setting is very Gothic and dark. Just my style!"

Publishers Weekly, February 4, 3013:
"Nickerson makes smart use of a lush, eerie antebellum Mississippi setting to add tension...Although the book moves leisurely, it effectively blends the fairytale world with the realities of Sophia’s powerlessness: she’s underage, impoverished, and female. All of which makes her luck, determination, and eventual triumph all the more rewarding."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2013:
"Elegant prose and vivid imagery give this gothic retelling of Perrault’s 'Bluebeard' an exquisite sense of place; the descriptions of the lavish rooms of the seemingly endless estate are entrancing, while the hints of unease—a name scratched in a bedpost, old paintings found in the attic, a decrepit chapel in the estate’s cemetery—keep the tension mounting."

Booklist, March 1, 2013:
"With nods to such classics as Rebecca and Gone with the Wind and a setting that may draw Downton Abbey fans, first-time novelist Nickerson adds a strictly American spin to her version of the Bluebeard fairy tale. With headstrong Sophia, handsome rake Monsieur de Cressac, and sweet, courageous Reverend Stone wrapped in a romantic love triangle; the glamorous Mississippi plantation as a cover for the somewhat sanitized horrors of slavery; and the increasingly obvious murder mystery; this will beckon readers of historical fiction, romance, and mystery alike."

School Library Journal, March 2013:
"Nickerson makes a strong debut with this suspenseful reimagining of the Bluebeard legend that seamlessly weaves together elements of fairy tale, gothic romance, and pre-Civil War-era American history. Fans of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy will delight in this gorgeously atmospheric page-turner."

SLJ Teen, February 5, 2013:
"Jane Nickerson adroitly weaves the threads of the 'Bluebeard' story into Strands of Bronze and Gold to create a spellbinding tapestry of mystery, romance, and suspense...A grippingly gothic tale, with a lavishly described and lushly atmospheric setting and likable heroine."


From the Hardcover edition.

Kirkus Reviews

A bloodless retelling of the Bluebeard tale finds its setting in antebellum Mississippi. When her father dies, 17-year-old Sophia is taken in by her godfather, the mysterious Bernard de Cressac. Sophie soon finds out that not only is her guardian a widower, but there have been three wives before the last. Wyndriven Abbey had been brought over, stone by stone, from France and rebuilt and added to, and it has a full complement of British, Chinese and French servants and plantation slaves. Sophie is first charmed, then puzzled, then frightened by Monsieur Bernard, who is mercurial in his moods and unyielding in his demands. Sophie is plucky and occasionally wise, but she also has a foil and a hope in the local minister, and she finds strength in prayer. Nickerson describes clothing, architecture, woods and gardens in lovely detail, but even though Sophie tells her tale in the first person, there is no depth or nuance. Indeed, for a story with murders, attempted rape and slave-beating, no sense of horror or fear comes off the page, nor does any sort of erotic tension or longing. The language is modern for so old a story, although the slaves and free blacks take their dialogue directly from Joel Chandler's Uncle Remus: "Laws-a-mercy yes. I loves company! Have a blessed day." The end is both predictable and partakes of a distressing white-savior mentality. Skip it. (Historical fantasy/fairy tale. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169178777
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	03/12/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

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