Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s fairy tale, “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, features a protagonist who wins absolute power (and narrative approval) when he triumphs over a group of shallow-minded princesses. The soldier’s sadism, in particular, stands out to me and that’s why I’ve made it a focal point of this story, my first attempt at writing fantasy.
My debut novel, The Agency: A Spy in the House, is about a mixed-race girl detective in Victorian London. It won the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s inaugural John Spray Mystery Award in 2011. The Agency tetralogy continues with The Body at the Tower, The Traitor and the Tunnel, and Rivals in the City (Candlewick Press/Walker Books). For more about my work, including excerpts from each of the Agency novels, please visit www.yslee.com. Or sign up for my (very) occasional newsletter at https://tinyletter.com/yslee. Thank you for reading!