Showing results for "The Ugly Duckling" in Literature & Fiction

In the wake of the disastrous attack on the Golden City, Lady Light Spinner has become Grand Sorceress and Elaine, the Bookworm, has been settling into her positions as Head Librarian and Privy Councillor. But any hope of vanishing into her books is negated when a new magician of staggering power appears in the city, one whose abilities seem to defy the known laws of magic.

Plain, soft-spoken Nell Calder isn't the type of woman to inspire envy, lust - or murderous passions. Until one night on an exotic island in the Aegean Sea, at an elegant gathering that should have cemented her husband's glorious career in finance, the unimaginable happens...and Nell's life is shattered by a spray of bullets and the razor edge of a blade.Though badly hurt, Nell emerges from the nightmare a woman transformed. Delicate surgery gives her an exquisitely beautiful face, and rehabilitation gives her a strong, lithe body. Nicholas Tanek, a mysterious stranger who compels both fear and fascination, gives her a reason to go on living: revenge - at any price.With his shadowy past and more secrets than Nell could ever imagine, Tanek knows far more about the attack than he's willing to confess. Yet when he divulges the identity of her assailant, he makes the biggest mistake of his life. For as Nicholas gets closer to his quarry, he'll find his carefully laid plans jeopardized at every turn by a bold woman daring to strike out on her own. And Nell will find her mission imperiled by Tanek - a temptation to which she cannot afford to surrender.

Melanie Lange has disappeared. Her father, Sir Peter Lange, says she is a danger to herself and has been admitted to a private mental health clinic. Her ex-husband, Finn, and best friend, Nell, say she has been kidnapped. The media will say whichever gets them the most views. But whose side are you on?

Florence Knightley is shamelessly rejected by her own mother. She despises her daughter’s blemished looks. Such an ugly duckling is a shame to the house of Knightley among society’s more refined peers. When the young woman turns 18, her father decides it is high time his daughter marry, but who would even consider such an imperfect girl?

First published as "Den Grimme Ælling” in 1843, The Ugly Duckling is one of the best-known and well-loved fairy tales of the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. An unusual looking young duck is bullied by the other barnyard inhabitants and wanders the world trying to find where he can fit in. This collection also includes The Naughty Boy, The Leaping Match and Sunshine Stories.

The Ugly Duckling (1842) tells the story of a duckling who is rejected by everyone, including his family, because he looks different. Tired of being made fun of, he decides to go far, far away, but the characters he meets on the way are no more tolerant... - Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author, poet and artist.