The Cottage in the Woods

December 15, 2014
Coville’s clever, heartwarming fantasy initially seems to be an anthropomorphic version of an English gothic romance, à la Jane Eyre or Rebecca, with echoes of Jane Austen. But the story of Ursula, a young bear who arrives at an English estate to serve as governess, soon segues into fairy-tale lore. In the Enchanted Forest surrounding the estate, some animals are enchanted (able to speak and behave as humans) and some not; some humans are friendly and accepting of them, while others are less so. Expected plot developments—love interests, strange footsteps following Ursula down the mansion’s dark hallways—occur, but the developing hostilities between different populations give the story a more serious framework. What to make, though, of the silent blond girl in a bear suit? Then there’s the especially nasty old woman who lives in a shoe, homeless Bremen Town Musicians, and a revelation as to the fate of one of the Pied Piper’s followers. Artist Coville, in her debut, fuses classic English mystery elements with fractured fairy tales amid questions of prejudice, with droll, satisfying results. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

November 15, 2014
Jane Eyre meets the Three Bears.Once upon a time, in the faux-Victorian enclave of the Enchanted Forest, sentient creatures lived in harmony with humans-until the Anthropological Society began agitating for human supremacy. In this fraught atmosphere, the Vaughn family, three bears of great refinement, engage the young and naive bear Ursula Brown as governess. Like any proper heroine, she forms an immediate bond with her charge, Teddy, and tumbles into star-crossed love. Still, she is troubled by ominous forebodings about Teddy's resentful Nurse, the bigotry seething within the quaint village, and, above all, the dark secrets lurking in the titular stately mansion. Then, one night, a human girl with golden curls steals into her room....Ursula narrates in a deliberately old-fashioned cadence with "had I but known" asides. Principled and sincere, her dedication to Teddy and Goldilocks compels admiration, and the devoted friendship between cub and child is genuinely heartwarming. But the heavy-handed condemnation of prejudice jars oddly against Ursula's genteel snobbishness, and her romance is downright mawkish. Like the other Enchanted beasts, her cultivated comportment-including corsets, pianofortes, Latin studies and conventional Christian piety-downplays her animal nature, making each reference to snouts, paws and fur appear intrusive. Likewise, the cameo appearances by storybook characters, while occasionally clever, often seem forced. An ambitious but awkward mashup of nursery-tale whimsy, Gothic tropes and modern didactic moralism. (Fantasy. 10-16)

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Starred review from January 1, 2015

Gr 5-8-This charming and engaging book tells the tale of Ursula, a young bear just out of school, who is hired as a governess for young Teddy Vaughn. She and all the animals living in the Enchanted Forest have the same abilities as humans and have enjoyed a peaceful coexistence. However, tension soon builds as a group of humans demand limits on the freedoms of the enchanted. Complicating matters is a young girl, Goldilocks, living with the Vaughns. This situation becomes a point of contention with the townspeople and soon ends up in court. Ursula has to summon all her courage to protect the people important to her. Featuring a new interpretation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this novel weaves other nursery rhyme characters throughout the story. Beautifully written with thought-provoking vocabulary, it's best suited for strong readers who will also recognize the themes of social justice. Highly recommended.-Laura Fields Eason, Parker Bennett Curry Elementary School, Bowling Green, KY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" meets Jane Eyre in this ursine Victorian romance about "plain, unremarkable she-bear" Ursula Brown, who takes a position as governess to Teddy, only cub of the genteel, affluent Vaughns. Their "cottage" is an expansive, well-staffed manor, and along with her duties as educator Ursula finds herself contending with Teddy's obstructive, often-inebriated old badger Nurse -- as well as midnight footsteps in dark corridors, a hidden personage in the attic, and the annoying allure of handsome Mr. Bentley, the estate's clerk (and youngest son of a viscount). As if that's not enough, Ursula becomes involved in political upheavals in the Enchanted Forest, which threaten to cause segregation and violence between sentient animals and humans. Along with Jane Eyre, Coville riffs on elements of several folktales and nursery rhymes in her cast and plot, cleverly re-imagining and re-combining them to make this a pleasing literary puzzle. But the story stands up well even if a reader doesn't recognize the literary play: this staid Victorian world of bears who wear corsets and black bombazine, attend church and study Latin, is fully imagined. Particularly noteworthy is Ursula's character and narrative voice: sedate, restrained, and orderly in expression, she's also courageous, intelligent, and emotionally vulnerable. deirdre f. baker

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