Inspired by the life of Petrus Gonsalvus, a 16th-century Spaniard who suffered from hypertrichosis—excessive hirsutism—"Marvelous" is beautifully written. All those gorgeous sentences, though, become self-indulgent over time, at least to me. (I felt the same about "Wolf Hall," so if you loved that, you might well love this.) I think the characters and their emotions would have had more impact if the book had been more tightly edited, or if the author had trusted her readers more to get the point the first or second (or even third) time it was illustrated.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

I love the Beauty and the Beast story. What can I say, I find a Stockholm syndrome romantic in that context, and that context only. I saw that this book was labeled as a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in 16th Century France and I was like, heck yeah, give me some romance. Sometimes when I’m pretty sure I’m going to like a book, I purposely do not read the description very well. So for this one I was also under the impression that there was some fantastic or at least magical realistic elements. The problem here was my reading comprehension or lack there of. This is not a romance, or, at least, not the completely unrealistic sweepingly dramatic story I had talked myself into. It is, instead, quite good historical fiction.

This story is based on the few fragments we have of the historical person Pedro Gonzales, sometimes called “Monsieur Sauvage,” who had hypertrichosis, meaning that his body, including his face, was covered in hair. Taken as a child to be a sort of “pet” entertainment to the French royals, notably King Henri and. Catherine de’ Medici. In the same way royals of the time filled their court with people with dwarfism, treated in part with ridicule and part actual affection. To the royals’ surprise and amusement, Pedro becomes learned, sophisticated and dignified, where he was expected to be wild, fierce and savage. His subversion of expectations earns him the nickname “Petrus,” for the Latin he has learned, and may have endeared him to the court even further.

The day comes when Catherine decides to obtain him a wife, as she desires him to have children, (or “pups,” as some crueler members of the court deem them.) This is where 17-year-old Catherine comes in. The daughter of a merchant whose fortunes took a turn, her dowry will be paid, and her father’s debts likewise, if she marries a man she has never met.

This story is well-written, empathetic and realistic, allowing the reader to experience what life would have been like for each Catherine and Petrus, each thrust into a situation beyond their control and subject to the whims and pleasures of the members of the royal court. There is some romance here, not the sweeping romantic kind, but more the romance of the everyday, compromising with a partner and making a life together. But the real point of this book is exploring what freedom, independence and security mean, and where the lines between indebtedness and slavery lie.

This is a bittersweet story of two lives caught in circumstance, their ups and downs. Very educational and interesting. Recommended for all historical fiction readers in general, and would be a likely one for book clubs.

While I always loved the idea of the Beauty and the Beast storyline, I had no idea that it was based on a real person. This story uses the real life story of Pedro (Petrus) Gonsalves. I found this fictionalized accounting of his life fascinating and heartbreaking. This story start to finish is about Petrus' life from when he was left at a church as an infant to his eventual death as a family man. It is interesting yet plodding description of his life. The writer's talents do not involve overly exciting descriptions but she writes more as if she were just an observer of his and the family lives. Overall I enjoyed this rendition of his story. And I just have to add that this cover is beautiful. I would've bought it just for that cover alone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great novel and was beautifully written. It has left me speechless with how wonderful it was.

First of all, this cover is absolutely stunning. So beautiful. It drew me into the book! However, I found the writing in this book to lack the emotion and depth I need while reading. I enjoy the idea of this book I just really wanted more from it overall.

This was an interesting read that I did not want to put down. I really enjoyed it and I loved the characters.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Molly Greeley is a historical author I’ve wanted to continue enjoying since her first book, but unfortunately, each succeeding book has been duller and duller. And that’s unfortunate, as Marvelous has such a great concept, exploring the lives of the “Real Beauty and the Beast.”

I will commend Greeley for doing a lot of research, especially on these somewhat more obscure people who figured somewhat obscurely in the lives of the more prominent royals and aristocrats, notable mainly for Pedro’s and some of his children’s furry features. Even with some of the drawbacks on a story level, it’s clear Greeley enjoyed the subject and wanted to bring their story to a wider audience.

But this is the prime example of the pitfall of biographical historical fiction, when the sole goal is to explore the inner lives of lesser known people. There’s a lot of monotony that doesn’t seem to go anywhere; it’s just more of “Catherine had a baby” or “Petrus did this” It’s interesting at times to see how he and his family navigate society, given his condition and how he is viewed, but that isn’t enough to maintain my interest.

While I didn’t enjoy this as much as some others have, it’s definitely a case of it just not being my personal taste, even if it’s objectively a decent book. If you enjoy historical fiction told in a very biographical style, and are interested in the real-life origins of popular fairy tales, I think you may enjoy it more than I did.

Molly Greeley’s Marvelous was such an interesting read. Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
First, until I read the author’s note, I had no idea this was based on actual events. It added so much context to the story and gave me a lot to think about.
Retellings are some of my favorite stories, especially fairy tale retellings. This is one of the best written retellings I’ve ever read. This take on Beauty and the Beast was emotional and thought provoking.
Pedro and Catherine were such dynamic characters. I love how their relationship developed over the course of the story. It was also really interesting to learn more about Catherine de Medici, as I only really know about her in relation to Mary, Queen of Scots.
Marvelous is available on February 28 and I highly recommend!!

I was so dishearteningly disappointed in the execution of the story. So much potential, such a gorgeous love story wrapped in such a bittersweet home life and tied together with a ribbon of tragic circumstances! A good story badly written, a story I loved with a writing I disliked.

An interesting historical and non-magical Beauty and the Beast retelling. I actually liked this a lot more after reading the historical note at the end and realizing how much of the story was grounded in fact.

It did feel like that the author was trying not to veer too far away from fact, so I think this caused the writing to be a bit distanced, particularly emotionally. There wasn't much of a plot- the book just moves from event to event, and in theory this could work really well, but it didn't feel like there was enough character or emotional development for me to get invested in the characters.

So... I liked the idea of this a lot, and I appreciated the story a lot more after reading the historical note, but while I did like parts of it, I personally would have enjoyed the story more if it had a different style of writing.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Set in the French royal court of Catherine de’ Medici during the Renaissance, which recreates the touching and surprising true story behind the Beauty and the Beast legend."

The writing exuded an airy, almost dreamlike feeling which became slightly tedious, and I found myself wishing for more of a down to earth atmosphere. I feel the story would have benefited and been less confusing from a linear timeline rather than jumping back and forth in the character's lifetimes.

In all, an interesting read.

3.75☆

Marvelous is, loosely, a Beauty and the Beast story rooted in history instead of fantasy. It follows Pedro, a man with hypertrichosis, and his wife Catherine as they try to navigate life on the edges of the French court. I think this will appeal more to historical fantasy readers than those who enjoy fairy tale retellings since it is really more of an exploration of marriage and disability in late 16th and early 17th century Europe. Because of this, you may want to seek out reviews by readers with disabilities for a more nuanced or in-depth analysis of that aspect of the book.

Personally, I struggled with the book’s structure. It's a dual POV story, and it jumps between the beginning and end of these characters’ lives. I was also frustrated because the novel sets up this mystery about what happened to Pedro and Catherine’s youngest daughter, Antionette, but that storyline is never resolved. I understand why the author made this choice; in the historical note she explains how Antoinette disappears from the historical record after she was sent to live with the Marchesa di Soragna. But I found it to be a very unsatisfying way to structure and focus the book. Other readers, of course, may find this to be a very moving plotline.

Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary e-book in exchange for my honest review.

Marvelous by Molly Greeley is a look at an obscure historical family. Petrus Gonsalvus was a man born with an unusual amount of hair covering his entire body. He was kidnapped and given as a gift to King Henri II of France. The king’s mother Catherine de Medici arrange Petrus’ marriage to Catherine Raffelin, a woman without any remarkable physical differences. This book is the story of their lives together.

Greeley treats this story as a long meditation on marriage and parenthood. While a peek into the interior lives of a family of outsiders inside a royal court is interesting, it was also a bit slow for my taste. Greeley steered away from the intrigues and politicking within he French court and focused entirely on the Gonsalvuses as a family, I would have preferred a broader focus but that’s a matter of personal preference. A reader who likes love stories and tales of domesticity, this book is lovely.

This was a very enjoyable book although I expected a little more about court life. This was a story of a woman who falls in love with her husband, unloveable hairy beast though he is. Or at least that’s how he feels. He will be always terrified of the possible cruelty of others and he is emotionally shut down because of this. Reading about the warming of Catherine and Pedro towards each other is a sweet and memorable story. Court life, its oddities and the Huguenots is given a small part in the overall story. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the pleasure of a digital ARC. This review is my own.

I really enjoyed the first third of this book. I was invested in Pedro and Catherine's story and I was so eager to get a deep dive into their characters and their lives.

However, this book is told in passive narration. While the writing is beautiful and lyrical, the story is very superficial. There is no deep dive into their characters. There is very little dialogue between characters so there is no real exploration of any relationships. Everything is told to you, nothing is really shown. I feel like there was so much talking about the way things looked and what the setting was instead of the way things were. This made it so difficult to even care about Pedro and Catherine. I couldn't be invested in them because I didn't know anything about the way they interacted with each other. I wanted so much more!!There are also a lot of time jumps that make it hard to follow along. The jumps to when Pedro has died completely ruin the momentum of the book.

I think this book has a lot of potential, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

1547: Pedro Gonzales, a young boy living on the island of Tenerife, understands that he is different from the other children in his village. He is mercilessly ridiculed for the hair covering his body from head to toe. When he is kidnapped off the beach near his home, he finds himself delivered by a slave broker into the dangerous and glamorous world of France’s royal court. There “Monsieur Sauvage,” as he is known, learns French, literature, and sword fighting, becoming an attendant to the French King Henri II and a particular favorite of his queen, the formidable Catherine de’ Medici. Queen Catherine considers herself a collector of unusual people and is fascinated by Pedro…and determined to find him a bride.

Catherine Raffelin is a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl whose merchant father has fallen on hard times and offers up his daughter to Queen Catherine. The queen will pay his debts, and his daughter will marry Monsieur Sauvage.

Catherine meets Pedro for the first time on their wedding day. Barely recovered from the shock of her father’s betrayal, she soon finds herself christened “Madame Sauvage” by the royal courtiers, and must learn to navigate this strange new world, and the unusual man who is now her husband.

Gorgeously written, heartbreaking and hopeful, Marvelous is the portrait of a marriage, the story of a remarkable, resilient family, and an unforgettable reimaging of one of the world’s most beloved fairy tales.

Thank you @netgalley for my ARC of Marvelous by Molly Greeley. This was a fabulous historical fiction novel set in the court of Catherine deMedici. It tells the true story that may be the basis for Beauty and the Beast. The writing and storytelling are lovely and the reader is immersed in the 16th century French court.

Catherine is a merchant's daughter and is arranged in marriage by Catherine deMedici to Pedro, an orphan who was born covered in hair.
They fall in love and and start a family. Greeley shows that real life fairy tales are not always happy and are often filled with hardship.

I literally let out a happy noise when I saw the approval for this title - I’ve loved reading Molly Greeley’s since right after reading “The Clergyman’s Wife”, my opinion on this was cemented after reading “The Heiress” and I requested this one the second I saw it.

The writing is breathtaking and had my eyes pricking with tears from the first chapter. I was pulled in immediately and found this Beauty and the Beast-esque historical fiction tale inspired by the real Petrus Gonsalvus, and his family, compelling in its beauty, heartbreak, and poignancy.

This novel made me angry and upset and anxious - with kindness, I’m going to suggest not starting this one during a bluer period in life.

It was also undoubtedly one of the most moving stories I’ve come across in the past few years.

I will give a full review on this book when Harper Collins talks with the union. Until then, I won't be posting about the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book is lovely but so heartbreaking. Not really a happy ending fairy tale, more a study of humans and how awful we can really be/how love transcends. Reading this just made me so sad. I was waiting for a moment of triumph but it really never came.

The book is based on the true story of Pedro Gonzales, who lived in the late 1500s and suffered from excess hair covering his body. He is kidnapped, sold and eventually "adopted" into the royal French court. He is married off to a beautiful young woman whose father needed the money from the dowery that the queen provided in exchange for the coupling. This "beauty and the beast" had to endure their life at court as spectacles, never really finding their own home or having agency to do as they chose. Not so far off from the enslaved people of this country...

An interesting tale but just too poignant for me to truly enjoy.