| The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" (Once Upon a Time) | 
 enlarge | Author: Suzanne Weyn
Creator: Mahlon F. Craft
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $3.18
You Save: $3.81 (55%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 58392
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1416959432
EAN: 9781416959434
ASIN: 1416959432
Publication Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"Once upon a Time" Is Timeless The year is 1880, and Bertie, having just arrived in New York with her family, is grateful to be given work as a seamstress in the home of textile tycoon J. P. Wellington. When the Wellington family fortune is threatened, Bertie's father boasts that Bertie will save the business, that she is so skillful she can "practically spin straw into gold." Amazingly, in the course of one night, Bertie creates exquisite evening gowns -- with the help of Ray Stalls, a man from her tenement who uses an old spinning wheel to create dresses that are woven with crimson thread and look as though they are spun with real gold. Indebted to Ray, Bertie asks how she can repay him. When Ray asks for her firstborn child, Bertie agrees, never dreaming that he is serious....
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| Customer Reviews:
 What starts with real promise turns into bland mush October 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sometimes, to give myself a bit of a breather, I take in those fondly remembered times of my childhood, when fairy tales became nearly believable, and there was always a touch of enchantment that just might happen. And happily, most of the time, I find those old, old tales to be just the thing to lift me out of a funk.
One collection that has gained in popularity over the last few years has been an ongoing series of books from Simon & Schuster, under the title of Once Upon a Time... Rewritten for modern young adult audiences, these take traditional favourites, and give them a new spin or two, updating the characters, setting or action.
This time the choice was a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, titled The Crimson Thread. The setting is almost the modern world, nineteenth century New York City, in the slums where newly arrived immigrants learn the hard way that the streets are not always paved with gold. For Bridget O'Malley, ever since her mother has died, and famine has stalked Ireland, she has tried to mother her family, taking care of both her father and her siblings. But in spite of all of the hardships, she still has her dreams of success. But mixed in with all of the hope, there are some obstacles to overcome -- most notably the prejudice that many have towards the newly arrived Irish.
A stranger, Ray Stalls, turns out to be very helpful, befriending Bridget -- now calling herself Bertie Miller to be more acceptable -- with small presents, and almost courting her in his charming way. When the opportunity comes to work as a dressmaker's assistant, Bertie finds herself making an outlandish deal with Ray for his help in crafting a sumptuous ball gown for a wealthy merchant's daughter. But as with all rashly made promises, there is a terrible price underneath the words...
I really wanted to like this reworking of the story where a princess promises her first-born child to a clever dwarf who can spin straw into gold. While Suzanne Weyn manages to keep some of the traditional elements, and the upgrading of the story to a time and place nearer to the modern world, there is one severe problem with this story.
There really isn't any magick involved. Nothing.
There is a rich young man who isn't the prince that he seems as he manipulates Bertie, the characters are pretty much one notes and flit in and out of the story with little character depth or reason. Even the creation of the glamourous dresses is seated firmly in mundania, and while they are wonderful to read about, there's nothing there to give the sense of illusion either.
Even the actions, from the poverty of the Five Points and Hell's Kitchen, to the mansions of Park Avenue, to the horrible conditions in sweatshops and mills and the beginnings of the worker's movements, are very dull to read about. We know what to expect even before the author has set down the words, and for me, that ruined any expectations that I had for this novel. By the time it reached the requisite HEA (Happy Ever After) ending, I didn't care. It might as well just been another historical romance, but even those have some excitement to them, and plainly, this one didn't. Whatever danger or romance that is usually found in the realms of Faerie are just not here -- everything is watered down to a vapid, lifeless mush, and that's a real pity.
I don't know if it is the lack of the author in crafting these retellings, or if the editor in charge of this line of novels are responsible, but these seem to be taking fairy tales and making them the most bland, boring stories with few chills or touches of the macabre that most fairy tales have had through the centuries. Instead, it seems to be necessary to strip out everything and anything that might be offensive or objectionable, and the results just are not worth it.
Overall, two stars, despite the real promise that the story begins with.
 Just Amazing October 1, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is one of the most interesting takes on the original fairy tales. It has a modern twist that just adds to the story. I like the ending better then the original. Read the other books with the hint A Retelling of you will never forget this wonderful stories.
 Courtesy of Teens Read Too June 20, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Bridget O'Malley and her family are new immigrants to America in 1880 looking for a better life full of riches and dreams come true. Things in America aren't immediately wonderful and the family finds themselves looking for jobs and food while living in a small cramped tenement apartment in New York City.
In order to obtain a job as a coachman with the wealthy J.P. Wellington, Bridget's father changes the family name to Miller and boasts that his daughter, now known as Bertie, is an impressive seamstress. Paddy is quite the storyteller, and although Bertie has a talent for sewing, her skills are not quite what her father claims.
When the Wellington's find their family fortune in the textile industry in jeopardy, Paddy once again makes an outrageous claim about Bertie -- this time claiming she has the talent to spin straw into gold and fashion ugly plain fabric into stunning dresses with intricate designs. Bertie fears there is no way she can design and create the dresses expected of her. Desperate and in need, Bertie finds herself relying on the mysterious Ray Stalls for help.
THE CRIMSON THREAD is the latest addition to the ONCE UPON A TIME series, a series filled with retellings of fairy tales. Setting the story of Rumpelstiltskin amidst immigrants, wealth, and fashion of 1880 was an interesting take on the famous tale and added a touch of magic. I would imagine the story of Rumpelstiltskin a difficult story to re-tell, but the author added her own twist on the tale and characters which made it unique. A wonderful addition to the series and a must read for fairy tale lovers.
Reviewed by: Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen
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