Isabeau, Monsieur de la Noue's youngest daughter, does indeed come, although she is distraught at having to leave her ill father and her two older sisters. She was the primary caregiver in the family and she wonders if they will survive losing her for a year. However, the Beast has a magic mirror that chooses to show him glimpses of the de la Noue home when he removes the drape covering it, and as he sees the desperate situation the family has been left in, both financially, due to some recent events, and now with the loss of Isabeau, he is able to use magic to send them provisions to offset their situation.
Meanwhile, although Isabeau is initially terrified of the Beast, they soon begin a tentative friendship, with her playing lovely music to him in the music room and he reading stories to her in the library. Although the Beast falls immediately in love with Isabeau, the girl is much more wary, but she is also curious. When he retires to his study after dinner, she often wanders the halls of the estate, in search of a missing painting from the hall of portraits. Finding the painting stored in the attic only leads to more questions, but the Beast can't answer much because he is cursed and not allowed to reveal the terms of his curse or what led up to it. Despite this, he must make her fall in love with him and accept his hand in marriage within the year, not an easy task considering his frightening appearance.
While Isabeau and Beast build their relationship over the course of the year, her sisters Claude and Marie learn their new roles in the home, with Claude tending to the property and Marie learning to cook at the local tavern. As they branch out in their lives, they will also find romance, in addition to their newfound respective purposes in life. Of course, Beast will have his mirror to check in on the family, and with his unexplained magic, also a way for Isabeau to get news from them as well. When a family event causes her to want to go home for a week, the Beast is distraught, thinking she will not return. With his year almost up and her steadily turning down his marital proposals, will he be bound by his dark fur and talons forever, or will the love of his life finally realize she loves the man inside of the Beast?
The Beast's Heart is a charming tale. While it is a bit slow, it is never boring. I found it necessary to slowly build their relationship through the story, and I felt like the time element easily conveyed the year which passed as they got to know one another. I loved how the story would shift focus when the Beast would look into the mirror and peer into the lives of Isabeau's family, as it changed the pace a bit. The Beast's Heart reads like a story from centuries past, and I mean that in the most complementary way. I thoroughly enjoyed Leife Shallcross' interpretation of this timeless tale and welcome any new stories that might spring from her very creative mind. Also, if you are looking for more re-imagined fairytales, check out the links below our coverage of the Alice series and Lost Boy, both by Christina Henry.
