That The Prince and the Dressmaker invites such criticism is actually a credit to it. That prince, in some scenes, even dresses a bit like the Prince Charming of Disney’s Cinderella, with which Wang’s tale has some thematic commonality. That, however, is a terrible criticism to level at the book, as it hardly seems fair to blame a fairy tale for having an unrealistic, wish-fulfilling, happily-ever-after of an ending.Īnd Wang’s book is very much a fairy tale, even opening with a ball being thrown for a handsome young prince, where it is hoped he will find a princess to marry. It doesn’t really seem too terribly realistic, given the 19th century setting. And then something rather remarkable, and certainly, dramatic happens: His fortunes rather unexpectedly reverse, as some of the same forces that were responsible for his downfall not only learn to accept him, almost overnight, but to even celebrate him. There is a point late in Jen Wang’s The Prince and The Dressmaker in which Prince Sebastian is at his absolute lowest, his worst fears having been realized, and it genuinely seems like his life as he knew it is over, like perhaps his life itself could even be in serious jeopardy.
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