You are about to become a very wealthy buffoon"A Cinderella story like no other, Ardennia is a young adult historical fantasy that captures the magic, brutality and earthiness of the medieval age. This first book in a series chronicles the many adventures of Cinderella's prince as he undergoes his baptism of fire in the Battle of Paris, is charmed by Cinderella at a masquerade ball, and sets off on a quest to find her after she flees the ball at the midnight hour. The quest takes him through strange lands supposedly inhabited by ogres, pixies, hobgoblins, man-eating plants and giants, and peopled by extraordinary characters that include an epileptic bard, a bean counter who wagers his gold tooth in a dice game, a merchant who can never be too prosperous, a little girl who has a running feud with three bears, pilgrims that argue over who is the most pious and a beggar who has been cursed with leprosy for committing all the cardinal sins. Be on the look-out for a bit of Chaucer-like satire in this adapted fairy tale.Five Reasons to read Ardennia:5. The ironic ending 4. The love affair between Cinderella's stepmother and the hunchback3. Sir Guy's story of the elf and the troll2. Queen Bernadette's sagacity 1. Prince Henry's tete-a-tetes with the 14 ladies who attended the ball