Spindle's End

Robin McKinley

May 2002 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The evil fairy Pernicia has set a curse on Princess Briar-Rose: she is fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an endless, poisoned sleep. Katriona, a young fairy, kidnaps the princess in order to save her; she and her aunt raise the child in their small village, where no one knows her true identity. But Pernicia is looking for her, intent on revenge for a defeat four hundred years old. Robin McKinley's masterful version of Sleeping Beauty is, like all of her work, a remarkable literary feat.

Ratings and reviews

I keep returning to this book over and over again, which is not very common for me and retellings of fairytales. Similar to Diana Wynne Jones's work in its tone and world building.

I love this book. In the beginning its a bit confusing...but it has a nice moral, and its very heart-warming.

I love this book! I couldn't put it down. Robin McKinley is an amazing writer.

About the author

Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword. Her other books include Sunshine; the New York Times bestseller Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.