The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" (Once upon a Time)

Another addition to the compulsively readable Once Upon a Time series, a whimsical retelling of the beloved Grimms tale Rumpelstiltskin.

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...

Suzanne Weyn has written more than 100 novels for children and young adults and has had her work featured on the New York Times bestseller list. Her books in the Once upon a Time series include The Crimson Thread and The Night Dance among others. She is also the author of the romantic comedy, South Beach Sizzle. Suzanne lives in Putnam Valley, NY.