Lady Tremaine

By Rachel Hochhauser 
** Publication Date 3 March 2026 **
​4 stars




From the blurbs I read, this novel is supposed to be a retelling of Cinderella from the evil stepmother’s view. While I definitely wouldn’t call Lady Tremaine ‘evil’, nor the wicked stepsisters, ‘wicked’, I will say that there are definitely some strange family dynamics going on here.


Lady Tremaine, Etheldreda, was once a child of a brewer, who didn’t live in luxury, but didn’t have need for much. Until she met Henry, the wealthy landowner’s son. She enmeshed herself in Henry’s life for many years, until as adults, they wed. They had blissful years together, raising two young girls, Matilda and Rosamund. But life has its ways of being less than perfect, and Henry perished. 


Etheldreda found herself a single mother with nothing to her name - no land, no money. After a year’s worth of grieving, she found a widower father, a Lord, who was raising a young girl on his own. Etheldreda set her sights on him and soon became Lady Bramley. The stepdaughter would be Elin, who made it very clear from the first day that she needed neither Etheldreda nor sisters. After a brief marriage, once again Etheldreda found herself alone, but now with a large estate, staff, her own two daughters and a stepdaughter. And other than the dowry set aside for Elin, no money.


With all three girls now young women, and of marrying age, Etheldreda is dedicated to having them marry well. When the prince’s ball is being held, Etheldreda secures invitations for her two daughters, in addition to Elin. I think we know how the story goes from here, but it’s not the Disney version of the fairytale. This prince is charming on the outside, maybe not quite as nice on the inside. 


I found this book a little slow through the first half. There is a lot of history and backstory that needs to be established to understand Etheldreda and her current state of affairs. As we moved into the ball and later chapters, it got really interesting. I loved the take from the stepmother’s point of view, because we see what lengths this mother is willing to go to so that her children can be happy and well cared for. It’s fascinating to imagine a world where women are essentially belongings. They don’t have a lot of rights. Etheldreda is anything but a simpering female. The novel portrays her as a tough cookie who won’t stand for much. 


Stick around for the entire novel, because you will want to see how this one plays out. Elin is no Disney princess, and Simeon no Disney prince. This is more of a cautionary tale than fair tale.


Recommend!!