Ever since The Evil Queen uttered those damning words, we have all been terrified of Stepmoms. I for one, was much more afraid of The Evil Queen than I was of the Devil in the Children’s Bible. No jokes.
I didn’t get to celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday. But I do have a number of wonderful friends who all got to spend the day with their children. Some of those friends are stepmoms or a stepmom-to-be real soon. When I saw today’s theme for Top Ten Tuesday (Mother’s Day Related), I immediately thought of my dearest stepmom friends. Are they all evil? I honestly don’t think so. But yes, I do believe their only request is: “Bring me her/his heart!”. Maybe just not literally all the time. Sometimes they really just want to capture their stepchildren’s hearts.Thankfully Literature, the wisest of all, agrees with me. Let’s have a look at a few notable Stepmoms in literature:
1. Jess Thomas in the The One Plus One. Jess is one of my favorite characters in literature and if if wasn’t for Louisa Clark, she might have been my favorite Jojo Moyes character. Imagine you marry a guy with a kid and after a few years that bastard walks out on you AND the kid. She did a great job. Hats off to her.
2. Katie in Safe Haven. Maybe she’s more of a stepmom-to-be (they did end up living happily ever after right?). But the relationship that Katie built with Alex’s two young children was nicely portrayed in this story. And she did have a little help from her friend and neighbor, Jo.
3. Maria in The Sound of Music. A captain with seven children, what’s so fearsome about that? Maria von Trapp might just be the best stepmom ever.
4. Mrs Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility. The anti-EvilQueen. Her husband dies and in this case the evil stepmom and and evil stepsisters are wronged by that other hateful character in literature: The daughter-in-law.
5. Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Say what? Holly Golightly was a stepmom? She sure was honey. And she would have fitted in quite nicely with the next lot:
6. The Second Wives Club
The next couple of Stepmoms I haven’t met personally, but I’ve picked them up on Goodreads and made a quick call to my nearest and dearest friend, Mrs Google:
In her shoes by Jennifer Weiner
Love and other impossible pursuits
The Stepmother’s Support Group
The land of Forgotten Girls
Yes, I did pick them all for the lovely titles and covers. And maybe I’ll have one or two of these over for a nice cup of tea.
Mareli
This post links up with Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by Broke and the Bookish. Remember to ad your link and to visit the other Top Ten Tuesday participants!
no good stepmom in books comes to my mind but Maria in The Sound of Music BUT my favorite has to be Isabel Kelly (Julia Roberts) in "stepmom" omg I cried rivers with that movie!
Great topic! The Evil Queen scarred me when I was little… 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me
Me too!! Even Regina from Once Upon a Time scares me a bit!! LOL.
This is a lovely post. Well written and some lovely observations. I'm also a fan of Jess and The Sound of Music. Makes me cry. Every time.
Hi Bev, thank you! I still watch The Sound of Music every Christmas! I've been doing that for almost 30 years now….
A. this post title?? Brilliant! Love it.
B. what a great spin you put on this week's topic. Love seeing Katie (her story is one of my ALL-TIME favorite from Sparks), Maria (I mean, Sound of Music? A classic) and Mrs. Dashwood. Great characters, Mareli! 🙂
Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland (and the follow!).
Hi Rissi! Only a pleasure! Thanks for returning the favor.
Glad you found joy in this post!
Maria in The Sound of Music is the best! What kid wouldn't be lucky to have her in their life?
Here is my TTT. Thanks!
I am 38 and I STILL watch The Sound of Music every Christmas!!!! Love Maria.
I really like your topic this week!
Thank you Jennifer! Sorry for the late reply. Hope your week is way less hectic than mine.
Yes I love this list! As a stepmom my self I love seeing NICE stepmoms in books periodically. It's a nice break from the whole evil queen stuff!
I can't picture you as an Evil Queen at all!! So yes – you have to be one of the nice ones.
What a wonderful take on this week's topic! Love all of your choices too, especially Mrs. Dashwood and Holly Golightly.
Thank you Suzanne! I did this one for a friend who is very close to heart and yes, she is a stepmom. But not an Evil Queen.
Great topic! Maria in the Sound of Music is definitely a great stepmom.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/top-ten-tuesday-107/
She was the best wasn't she? Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a good week ahead!
I love that GIF! Maria in the Sound of Music… good one! And breakfast at Tiffany's- yay!! 🙂
I agree – yea!!!
Oh I think you did a great twist on this. Stepmoms also deserve so much more appreciation than they often get.
That is such a true statement. I have a wonderful friend who is the greatest mother I've ever seen – and that to her stepchildren.
Thanks for stopping by and have a good week!
OMG! #1 Jess….Ed….Jess.. Ed…I'm still missing them! Still miss Nicky, still miss Tanz and dear Norman! I reviewed this book Monday and I loved every second of it! That's TWO other lists with this wonderful Mom in them–I nearly forgot she was Nicky's step-Mom. Another great one is Ianthe in the later Penderwicks books.
Also one of my favorites! Need to look into the Penderwicks books though.
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your week!