Accidental Arsonist

Ella's Life in Cinders

What happens when a favorite fairy tale gets dropped into the middle of Europe in World War 2? Take Cinderella in France in the 1930s-1940s: Ella never got along with her stepmother. After her father died, her stepsisters grew even more horrid to her. She's the only one though who cares about the farm at all. When the Nazis invaded, her stepmother and stepsisters are enjoying the occupation, it seems. That only meant more chores for Ella, and she's weary and overworked. Accidents were bound to happen, and she's put in a prison as an arsonist. But it was only an accident . . . wasn't it? When the prison is bombed, the inmates escape. There are others who have been hiding there. Some are rounded up and others are just shot. But Ella is rescued, because it turns out that an arsonist, accidental or not, is of great interest to the French Resistance.