Starting in Nottingham in 1906, Marietta Stelle’s whole world is about to change – against her will. She lives to dance and longs to be a ballerina but her parents have decreed that, as soon as she turns 21, she must give up her dream. The only path route to her is find a husband and take her expected place in Edwardian society.
The arrival of enigmatic Doctor Drosselmeier as their affluent new neighbour sets tongue wagging across town. When this mysterious toymaker charms the Stelle family, Marietta begin to wonder if he might offer another path for her future…
[Skip this paragraph if you don’t want any more plot revealed] Drosselmeier constructs an elaborate theatrical set for one final ballet performance from Marietta on Christmas Eve. But all is not what it seems and our heroine as she discovers when she unwittingly enters a door that transports her to the enchanting (but perilous) Everwood – a sugar-coated, twinkling, magical kingdom that is hiding its own secrets. Think Narnia but constructed by Willy Wonka – a frosted landscape of gingerbread houses and hot chocolate streams.
Midnight in Everwood takes a Jane Austen-esque heroine and places her into a fairytale narrative to weave a coming-of-age story that has charm and a sense of wonder but also a clear underlying feminist impulse.
M.A. Kuzniar, in this her first novel aimed at adults, has some lovely turns of phrase that perfectly suit this world of enchantment: