The Cottage in the Woods

"Plain, unremarkable she-bear" Ursula Brown becomes governess to Teddy, only cub of the affluent Vaughns--and finds herself contending with midnight footsteps, a hidden personage in the attic, and handsome clerk Mr. Bentley. This ursine Victorian romance riffs on Jane Eyre, folktales, and nursery rhymes, but the fully imagined world stands up well even if a reader doesn't recognize the literary play.

"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