This article is about the book from A Twisted Tale. For other media, see Mirror, Mirror.
Mirror, Mirror is a novel based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that is the sixth entry of the "A Twisted Tale" series.
Summary[]
What if the Evil Queen poisoned the Prince?
Following her beloved mother's death, the kingdom falls into the hands of Snow White's stepmother, commonly referred to as "the Evil Queen" by those she rules. Snow keeps her head down at the castle, hoping to make the best of her situation.
But when new information about her parents resurfaces and a plot to kill her goes haywire, everything changes for Snow. With the help of a group of wary dwarfs, a kind Prince she thought she'd never see again, and a mysterious stranger from her past, Snow embarks on a quest to stop the Evil Queen and take back her kingdom. But can she stop an enemy who knows her every move and will stop at nothing to retain her power... including going after the ones Snow loves?
Plot[]
In a prologue, a princess and her friend, Anne, are seen arriving at a castle for the first time in a few weeks. It seems that the castle was once a beacon for its kingdom. A celebration is about to begin, and they have little time, as the queen of this kingdom demanded that everyone be at this celebration. In the past, the former king and queen of the kingdom ruled benevolently, with prosperity and peace for all, with not just rich soil for farming, but also an underground diamond mine, and now only this princess could bring all of that back. Anne cuts up tree branches to clear a path through a forest to an alternate route into the castle to avoid being recognized. Anne assures the princess she would have an easy time getting through than either Anne or Prince Henrich had earlier. This princess is worried about the danger that Henrich, or Henri, as the princess calls him, is in, but the princess has more important matters to tend to.
As the two enter the kingdom, it is eerily empty for this celebration, as all village establishments are closed, by order of the new queen, Ingrid. Something is amiss, as it seems unlike Queen Ingrid to demand merriment or a festival, since everyone lived in fear of her. As the princess and Anne try to figure out what to do, a random man informs them that Queen Ingrid is a witch and that she will curse them if they don't hide.
At last, they come across the mysterious celebration, as everyone is gathered around what looks a form of witchcraft, in the form of the still body of a young man in a glass coffin. It is Prince Henrich, who never stirs, almost as though dead. It seemed to be the doing of Queen Ingrid, who is aware of the return of the princess, whom she regards as a threat and wanted to make an example of her. The townsfolk react in surprise and excitement at the return of the princess. They beg her to save them, but the next thing she knows, the princess is captured by a burly man who smiles sadistically at her and calls her a traitor who is to be taken to Queen Ingrid, who is expecting her. As he drags her away, he sadistically tells her, "Welcome home, Snow White."
It all started ten years earlier, with the then-seven-year-old Princess Snow marveling at a snowfall (and wondering if she was named after the snow or vice-versa). She loves her mother, the Queen, whom Snow looked just like. They would play hide-and-seek outside, with Snow attempting to hide in the aviary. But she slips and falls on a rosebush, pricking her hand on the thorns and causing her to bleed. Her mother catches up with her and covers the wound with a handkerchief. All the while, the Queen's older sister and lady-in-waiting, Snow's aunt Ingrid, expresses displeasure at her being out there in the snow.
At that moment, then now-seventeen-year-old Snow awakens from what was apparently a dream. Her mother is gone, and her aunt, the new queen, has become a recluse, letting few people, if anyone, near her, including her niece. By now, she has had no new clothes; those she does have are now patched and made from old curtains. Snow opens the curtains and admires her mother's garden, which she continues to tend to, but she can no longer travel beyond the castle gates, as she is forbidden to do so, out of safety, by her aunt. She also is not allowed to make public appearances or speak to anyone.
Snow tries to recall her mother, who had passed away so suddenly, while her father became so distraught that he married her aunt, apparently trying to see her as a replacement. Instead, Snow's father, King Georg, never smiled again and eventually ran off due to a broken heart. Before he left, however, he advised his daughter not to make the same mistakes he did: to not be fooled by love and to trust her instincts and to not forget what she learned from her mother. Then she hears how the guards claimed that he ran off due to losing his mind, abandoning his daughter in the process.
In the absence of her aunt to raise and care for her, Snow had to care for herself.
New Characters[]
- Anne - Snow's friend, who accompanies her to the kingdom to reclaim the throne.
- Mila - The queen's washer.
- Brutus - The captain of the royal guards.
- Uncle Herbert - The farmer who took in Ingrid and Katherine after the sisters escaped their abusive father.
- Mrs. Kindred - The royal cook.
- Unnamed sorcerer - The sorcerer who trained the Evil Queen and taught her about magic. But she was impatient and betrayed him after finding the Magic Mirror.
- Kurt - villager associated with the dwarfs, and joins Snow White's cause in overthrowing the queen.
- Fritz - villager associated with the dwarfs, and joins Snow White's cause in overthrowing the queen.
- Sorceress Leonetta - a local sorceress who has provided protection for King Georg all these years.
Trivia[]
- The Evil Queen is given the name Ingrid, although there is more backstory to the queen.
- She was sisters with Snow's late mother, Queen Katherine. They were both children of an abusive father. After their mother passed away, the sisters ran away to escape his abuse, then wound up at a farmer's place. While Katherine enjoyed her new life, Ingrid loathed it and wanted nothing more than to leave it behind and start anew. While Katherine became known for growing beautiful apples (calling them Red Fire apples), Ingrid became infatuated with dark magic and started her apprenticeship with a sorcerer. She eventually found the Magic Mirror and used it to change her life. Unfortunately, Katherine got chosen to be the queen of the kingdom before Ingrid had the chance. Katherine took her in as her lady-in-waiting. Some years after Snow White was born, Ingrid organized her sister's assassination then cast a love spell on the king to marry him and claim the throne for herself.
- The Prince's name in the book is Henrich.
- The King's name is King Georg. He was a fair and honorable king until his wife passed. Sometime after marrying Ingrid, the evil queen banished him from the kingdom, never to return. She announced to the kingdom that the king had deserted her people and daughter. In truth, he had been living in the borders of Prince Henrich's kingdom and tried to return home for Snow White, but the queen's dark magic thwarted him every time. In the end, the Queen lifted the spell to hold him hostage in order to lure Snow White into a trap. After the queen was defeated, King Georg became Snow White's royal advisor.
- This book's title is the same as the 2012 movie that starred Julia Roberts and Lily Collins.
- Snow White is more headstrong than her movie counterpart. She is also noted to be seventeen years old as opposed to being fourteen in the movie.
- Snow White stayed in the dwarfs' house for longer than in the movie.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Mirror Mirror Collectors Edition (2022).jpg (194 KB)")
International Titles[]
- French: Un jour ma princesse viendra (Someday My Princess Will Come)
- German: Spieglein, Spieglein (Mirror, Mirror)
- Italian: Specchio, specchio (Mirror, Mirror)
- Japanese: ミラー、 ミラー (Mirror, Mirror)
- Polish: Lustereczko, lustereczko... (Mirror, Mirror...)
