Lady Tremaine is a work of literary fiction by debut author Rachel Hochhauser. Originally published in 2026 by St. Martin’s Press, Lady Tremaine retells the classic Cinderella fairy tale from the point of view of the stepmother. In Hochhauser’s narrative world, Lady Tremaine is living in Bramley Hall with her daughters, Mathilde and Rosamund, and her stepdaughter, Elin, when she learns of an impending royal ball. Eager to change her daughters’ circumstances, she arranges a meeting with her old acquaintance, the queen, to secure an invitation. As Lady Tremaine gets caught up in preparations for the event, she misses the true dangers brewing around her. The narrative alternates between the past and present, revealing how Lady Tremaine’s past life continues to influence her choices in the present. The novel explores themes including Women’s Survival Within a Rigid Patriarchal System, The Sacrificial Nature of a Mother’s Love, and The Tension Between Love and Ambition.

This guide refers to the 2026 St. Martin’s Press hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, death, child death, sexual violence, rape, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, animal death, and gender discrimination.

Plot Summary

Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley lives at Bramley Hall with her biological daughters, Mathilde and Rosamund; her stepdaughter, Elin; and their two housekeepers, Alice and Wenthelen. Ever since Lady Tremaine’s second husband (Elin’s father), Lord Robert Bramley, died when the girls were young, Lady Tremaine has struggled to make ends meet. Robert left her the manor and land, but she also inherited a mountain of debt, no income, and no future prospects for herself or her daughters.

One morning, Lady Tremaine takes her hawk, Lucy, out for a hunt on the edge of the land. She’s practiced falconry since she was a girl, and she inherited the bird from her late first husband, Henry Tremaine. On mornings like this one, she uses Lucy to hunt rodents for food for the family. Lady Tremaine catches a rabbit on the adjacent royal land, reflecting on her current circumstances and her past as she goes.

Lady Tremaine grew up in a small village, where her father worked as a brewer. Her mother died when she was young, leaving her with no memory of maternal affection and no female presence in her life. When she was 12, her father hired a tutor, Agatha, to instruct her in the arts of female etiquette. Agatha was rigid and cruel, and Lady Tremaine resented her lessons yet quickly learned that she’d have to adapt if she hoped to survive her future as a woman.

Meanwhile, Lady Tremaine developed a friendship with Henry, whose family spent the summers at their nearby hunting lodge. Henry taught Lady Tremaine about birds, and they began spending all their time together. One summer, Henry returned with a beautiful young girl named Sigrid in tow. Lady Tremaine resented Sigrid and feared that she’d steal Henry’s heart. Jealous, she led Sigrid into a swarm of wasps during a horseback ride. Sigrid was so badly injured that she was laid up in bed for several weeks. Meanwhile, Lady Tremaine and Henry rekindled their old intimacy.

Not long after Sigrid left the village, Lady Tremaine and Henry got engaged. Lady Tremaine began preparing her dowry and sewing her wedding gown. They married, and she had their two daughters. When the girls were seven and eight, Henry died, leaving Lady Tremaine reliant on Henry’s impatient, graceless father. Lady Tremaine quickly realized that she’d have to remarry to get out from under her father-in-law’s thumb.

Lady Tremaine remarried Lord Robert Bramley and moved into Bramley Hall. She tried endearing herself, Rosamund, and Mathilde to his daughter, Elin, but Elin had no interest in a new family. She spent all her time on the fine arts, waiting for the day her future husband would sweep her off her feet. After Robert’s untimely death, Lady Tremaine struggled to maintain the household and called upon the girls for help. Only Elin refused to adapt to their newly impoverished circumstances. To this day, she is no help around the house and continues to hole herself away, isolated from her stepmother and stepsisters.

In the present, Lady Tremaine returns from her hunt to find a royal carriage on her doorstep. She is horrified when the royal messenger reveals that only Elin and her chaperone have been invited to the upcoming royal ball. After he leaves, Lady Tremaine tells her daughters that she will fix the matter by visiting Queen Sigrid, who married the then-prince and inherited the throne not long after Lady Tremaine and Henry’s marriage.

The queen agrees to include Mathilde and Rosamund in her invitation. The girls are thrilled by their mother’s success at court and immediately begin their preparations for the ball. Lady Tremaine tells Elin that she is only allowed to attend if she can sew her own dress.

One day, Lady Tremaine learns that Prince Simeon is participating in a nearby hunt. She stages a picnic along the hunting route, snagging the prince’s attention as he travels by. He joins their lunch, delighting in Mathilde and Rosamund’s company. On the way home, Lady Tremaine is hopeful that her plans will lead to an advantageous marriage for one of her daughters.

On the day of the ball, Lady Tremaine forbids Elin from attending because her dress is unsuitable for the affair. She leaves for the palace with her daughters. At the ball, Lady Tremaine is so happy when Rosamund dances with Simeon that she becomes lightheaded and steps outside for some air. There, she overhears the queen talking to her subject Otto about the unsuitability of Lady Tremaine’s daughters. Already incensed, Lady Tremaine becomes even more upset when Elin enters the ball wearing the dress that Lady Tremaine wore to her wedding with Henry. Simeon is captivated, and the two dance together for the duration of the evening.

The next day, Simeon comes to Bramley Hall with Otto to take Elin on a walk. They become engaged by the end of the afternoon. Later, Queen Sigrid pays Lady Tremaine a visit, declaring her support for the engagement and her plans to hold the wedding in three days. Privately, Lady Tremaine resolves that the engagement, although unexpected, will help Mathilde and Rosamund, too.

Lady Tremaine hosts the prince and his subjects at her home. During the event, Otto wanders off and discovers that Bramley Hall is crumbling and that Lady Tremaine’s family is impoverished. He insists on shepherding the prince out and revealing the truth to the queen; Lady Tremaine begs him to keep her secret.

Later, Lady Tremaine hears a rumor from a housemaid that the prince is a brute whom no woman should trust. The housemaid says that she used to work at the palace and knows that Prince Simeon raped his sister, Princess Hemma. The king and queen want to marry Simeon off immediately so that they might pass Hemma’s baby off as Simeon’s legitimate child. Horrified but curious, Lady Tremaine goes to the palace, secures an audience with Hemma, and discovers that the rumors are true. She confronts the queen, but Sigrid refuses to call off Simeon and Elin’s engagement. On the way out of the palace, Lady Tremaine runs into Otto. He agrees that her daughters must be protected from Simeon, whom he has always known is a terrible person.

Back at home, Lady Tremaine discovers that Elin has left Bramley Hall with the prince. When she tells her daughters the truth about Simeon, they demand that she go after their stepsister. Otto arrives and accompanies Lady Tremaine. They traverse the countryside, finally discovering the young lovers in a squalid inn. An altercation ensues, but a reluctant Elin finally agrees to return home with her stepmother.

Lady Tremaine, Mathilde, Rosamund, and Elin are just recovering from their scare when Prince Simeon returns to the house and forces his way inside. Lady Tremaine agrees to lead him to the girls but ushers him into a dark room instead. Realizing her deception, Simeon attacks her. Lady Tremaine fights back. Lucy comes to her aid, and Elin hits Simeon over the head, killing him. Lady Tremaine and the girls bury his body outside.

In the Epilogue, Lady Tremaine settles back into her humble life at Bramley Hall with her daughters and stepdaughter. She and Otto have a romance but do not marry. Together, they live a happy life.