The Slipper and the Tree

Retold of Old, Book 2

By: G. Lawrence

Narrated by: Charles Johnston

This is a tale of witches and wishes, tales and trees, stepmothers, spells and a girl who sleeps in the ashes by the fire....

But it's not the one you know.

The Slipper and the Tree is a novella, and part of the Retold of Old Series by G. Lawrence. This book is narrated by Charles Johnston.

The author's thanks are due to Brian Milton, proofreader of this work, and Warren Designs, the cover artist.

©2020 Gemma Lawrence (P)2022 Gemma Lawrence

A fresh feminist take on the Cinderella story

The Slipper and The Tree is a retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale but there are many differences and unexpected twists in this fresh feminist take on an old classic.

“Witches become trees when they die.”

The existence of witches is a fact that our main character, Nion, becomes aware of when her aunt comes to visit soon after her mother is killed by her nobleman father. She has been banished to the kitchen rather than continuing a noble life as his child, since she is female and cannot be his heir. This is a brutal man’s world in which only male heirs are valued and women who cannot produce such offspring are cast aside or murdered. Nion’s mother was a witch and has now become a tree in death. A dead witch is able to design a comfortable room within their tree for the use and safety of other witches. Nion’s aunt shows her the tree that her mother has become and gives her its key.

Luckily Nion realizes what she must do in order to be happy for the rest of her life and there is just enough romance to enable her to have a happy ending on her terms - which is very different to the traditional ending for Cinderella.

Nion’s stepmother, who is not wicked, but is understandably jaded having acted as a kind of brood mare to three husbands intent on producing a son, is also allowed a happy ending, finally.

I really enjoyed this story and in particular the audio narration and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes an alternative take on a fairytale. The wonderfully warm and richly voiced narration of Charles Johnston makes this an enchanting story. It is easy to imagine him sitting by the fire with a book on his knees reading to a circle of enraptured children. He is an absolute pleasure to listen to and captures the relevant emotions and moods required by the different parts of the story.