Cover of Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted

core novel 1997 Ella Enchanted

Record

First published1997
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.02 (427,245 ratings, collected 2026-08-26)
Page count240
First-edition ISBN9780060275105

Synopsis

This retelling of the Cinderella story follows Ella of Frell, cursed at birth by the well-meaning but careless fairy Lucinda with the "gift" of obedience, which forces her to comply instantly with any direct command anyone gives her, however small or dangerous. After her mother Eleanor dies when Ella is fifteen, Ella meets Prince Charmont at the funeral and the two begin a cautious friendship. At finishing school, her stepsister Hattie discovers the curse and exploits it to torment Ella and drive a wedge between her and her closest friend, Areida, prompting Ella to flee in search of Lucinda herself, encountering ogres and other dangers on the road.

Where it sits

Notes

  • A Cinderella retelling in which the protagonist is cursed at birth with a "gift" of obedience she must find a way to break.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

  • Publication order, within Ella Enchanted (standalone work): position 1 of 3: next Fairest (2006)

Sources

← Ella Enchanted dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.