Cinderella is Dead Study Guide

Kalynn Bayron is an American author of young adult fiction. She grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and as a child discovered a love of stories. She published her debut novel, Cinderella is Dead, in 2020, and went on to publish the young adult fantasy novels This Poison Heart and This Wicked Fate, the young adult horror novel You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight and the middle grade paranormal adventure The Vanquishers. She received the 2022 Randall Kenan Award for Black LGBTQ fiction, was nominated for a CILIP Carnegie Medal and Bram Stoker Award, and was a finalist for a LOCUS Award. Bayron is a classically trained singer and currently resides in San Antonio, Texas with her family.

The novel’s central conceit of retelling the story of Cinderella is part of a long history of retelling fairy tales and folktales. That includes the Brothers Grimm originally writing down the tale of Cinderella, as well as the creation of the Disney film that shaped public perception of the story. Cinderella is Dead also draws heavily on real-life instances of misogyny, homophobia, and government oppression. The novel’s “Lille Decrees” state that women cannot own property, which has been true in many past societies. King Manford’s emphasis on propaganda, public humiliation, and the casting out of anyone who does not conform to societal norms are tactics of control that many governments, both past and present, have employed to keep subjects in line. The balls at which the men of Lille choose wives bear a resemblance to debutante balls, which historically served as a young woman’s entrance into society and as a means to present her as eligible for marriage. Additionally, King Manford’s decree that all families must display his portrait in their home recalls rules implemented by various authoritarian states throughout history, such as Rafael Trujillo’s Dominican Republic. Trujillo, like Manford, required Dominican families to prominently display his portrait or face jail time.

Cinderella is Dead is a fractured fairy tale that retells the story of Cinderella through a feminist and LGBTQ lens. Other young adult retellings of Cinderella include Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Ash, by Malinda Lo, also retells Cinderella with a teenage lesbian protagonist. The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl, Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust, and The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett are other young adult novels that reframe classic fairytales through feminist and LGBTQ themes. Cinderella is Dead also challenges the expectation for White fairytale protagonists by featuring Sophia, a young woman of color, as its main character. The works of Anna-Marie McLemore also bring queer people of color to the forefront of fairytale narratives, such as in her novels The Mirror Season and Blanca & Roja.