Beauty by Robin McKinley

 Beauty's family falls on hard times when her father's ships are lost at sea.  They move to a small village on the edge of an enchanted wood, where Beauty's brother-in-law works as a blacksmith. When news comes that one of Beauty's father's ships has arrived at last, he goes to see what of their fortune might be recovered.  When he returns he tells a fantastic tale of an enchanted castle and a horrible beast.  Beauty, the youngest of her sisters, agrees to return to the castle with her father. There she finds strange invisible servants, changing castle halls, and a beast that is nothing like she would have expected. 

This is probably my favorite retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story.  It is actually very similar to the original story, just fleshed out and gentled.  It was written written in 1993 and would never have been published if it was written today.  It is too straight forward and devoid of controversy or social commentary.  There is no attempt to be PC or inclusive. I know it is very entitled of me, but I really enjoyed it.  The writing is good and the relationship between Beauty and the Beast is sweet.  I always thought the Disney company drew on it heavily when they made their animated version. This is a good choice if you want to curl up on a cold night with a classic fairytale. (256, 1993)