Book Review: Once Upon a Marigold

Title: Once Upon a Marigold

Author: Jean Ferris

Date: 2002

Publisher: Harcourt / Scholastic

ISBN: 0-439-57624-5

Length: 266 pages

Quote: “He’d seen how the beautiful golden-haired triplets had spent most of their time together in an extravaganza of pastel femininity while their little sister spent most of her time in solitary pursuits: reading cultivating pots of flowering plants, playing with her three small dogs.”

That’s Marigold.

Take the clichés from all the fairy tales that begin with “Once upon a time,” the fast-staling variations that begin with “Once upon a miracle,” some more puns that are even worse, sappy-ever-after Young Romance, a fairy-tale-world version of Twitter where the young couple communicate in short messages tied to birds’ legs, with a sense of humor, and you get this (I think) highly satisfactory parody of fairy-tale romance.

The person watching the princesses from a distance is Christian, an odd name for a character in a thoroughly secular story, but never mind. He’s a foundling boy being raised by a troll. The troll is definitely a member of the L.E.F.T. (Leprechauns, Elves, Fairies, and Trolls Association). For a troll he’s nice, and makes sure Christian has a good book of human etiquette to study. He anticipates that one day Christian will be presented at the court of King Swithbert, who is a bit dopey because he’s being doped by power-hungry Queen Olympia.

You know how this kind of story is required to end. If you read it, you read it for the little barbs of satirical wit in between the clichés, the overtones of Twitter, the comic Americanization (trolls are Scandinavian but Christian’s foster father has a second-generation-Yiddish-American or Noo Yawk accent), and the jokes primary school readers will love enough that they can forgive the romance.

I can imagine my younger self having giggled over Once Upon a Marigold in grade three or four, missing some of the jokes but getting enough to entertain me. The Twitter references may be there for the benefit of Ferris’ usual audience, teenagers. Adults seeking laughs for pain relief may appreciate Once Upon a Marigold too; it’s like a shorter, less violent Princess Bride. Unlike the forgettable, serious Teen Romances Ferris had written before, Once Upon a Marigold really was for everyone; it sold well enough to become a trilogy.

It would have been nice if I'd posted this review in time to offer all three Marigold books as Fair Trade Books, but I didn't. Ferris no longer has any use for a dollar and this web site's best online price is still $5 per book, $5 per package, $1 per online payment. All three Marigold books and at least one more will fit into one $5 package.