Princess of the Midnight Ball

The Princess of the Midnight Ball is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and while Jessica Day George makes a largely uninteresting and unromantic fairy tale into something with likable characters and a far more magical plot, it could have used a bit more sparkle, a bit more depth of character and a bit more female strength.

As I mentioned, the original version is pretty unpalatable from a modern perspective. The princesses sneak off to dance for their own pleasure. Their father, the king offers a reward to anyone who can solve the puzzle of where the princesses go at night. Anyone who fails at the mission is summarily killed. The princesses are eventually found out by an old soldier who then chooses, as a prize, the oldest to be his wife. It’s a bit hard to know who to root before between spoiled girls, a murderous father or an old man off to buy himself a royal bride.

In Jessica Day George’s version the princesses are caught up in a curse brought on by some deals their mother had made with a wicked magician, King Under Stone. This sets the stage for them to be rescued (rather than being kept from something that was a great pleasure to them). The eldest princess begins to fall in love with a soldier who comes to work in the palace gardens, and he is the soldier who ends up saving the princesses from their terrible fate. He asks nothing in return for his good deeds (but is of course rewarded with the love of his true love). By creating a curse and an evil adversary, George creates a far more magical fairy tale world than the one provided by Grimm. The romance between Galen, the soldier and the eldest sister Rose is sweet and very in keeping with the chaste fairy tales we’re used to (they cap things off with a kiss and embrace).

So why isn’t this a glowing review? To start with, I could smack her for keeping 12 princesses. You’re doing an adaptation. Please don’t name 12 princesses with flower names, give most of them some vague personality traits (Spunky! Musical! Religious!) and expect me to keep them straight. I think she could have written 6 princesses far more convincingly and with depth of character rather than spreading things thin with 12. Also, I’ve gotten a bit spoiled with retellings giving girls a bit more of a hand in saving themselves. While (Second eldest! I think?) sister Lily wields a pistol with the best of them, and sister Hyacinth (Religious! I think?) sets fire to a rug, overall, Galen is the one doing all the problem solving and saving. Oh, he’s a likely lad (as they used to say) but come on. Give me some more fight from the ladies! (An additional gripe along feminist lines, when Rose is ill from pneumonia Galen notices that although she appeared slender and romantic from a distance, she looks very worn out “hollow-cheeked” even. And then he follows it up by thinking she is more beautiful than ever. STOP THE MADNESS. We do not need any glamorization of being sickly thin, however brief). Finally, I can’t say as I felt all magical loopholes were closed at the end, and that kind of thing tends to nettle me.

It was certainly a fun read though, and I’d say would be enjoyed by teens and tweens (difficult vocabulary may keep it out of the hands of younger readers, although the content is very much fairy tale scary and not really scary or gory at all).

Sex, Nudity, Dating – Part of the main premise of this book relies on knowing the Queen made a bargain with an evil man in order to get pregnant. A crone says she thought soldiers spent their free time wenching. A fairy tale told by an old man, tells of 4 girls locked in a tower who when they are released each have a babe in their arms, sired by a black magician. As mentioned before, the man who saves the princesses can pick one for his bride. As with any good fairy tale there are a few chaste kisses and a wedding.
Profanity – We’re told that Galen could swear with the best of the sergeants. “Hell,” used to describe the location, rather than as a curse.
Death, Violence and Gore – The book opens at the end of a war. As would be expected in a war, there are many casualties (many related to the characters we meet and care about). The princesses are cursed and only death can free them. The princes who try to discover their secret are killed in various ways (many in ways that appear accidental). There is a witch hunt, complete with threats of hanging. There is a battle for the princesses lives between Under Stone and his sons and Galen. At various points the sons and king are shot, stabbed, whipped or bayonetted(totally not a word, but whatever). None of the violence is graphically described.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – Rose is very ill with pneumonia. The girls are accused of witchcraft. The King Under Stone is pretty creepy and makes many threats.