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The Stepdaughter
A wicked stepmother finds her ideal prey in Carlone Blackwood's “quite brilliant” ( The Times ) debut.
A lavish Upper West Side apartment is the site of a familial cold war about to enter a phase of dangerous escalation.
J is a lonely woman without even the luxury of being alone. Her husband has fled to Paris with his latest flame, but he’s left J not only with their own four-year-old daughter, Sally Ann, but with the sulky cake-mix addicted, thirteen-year-old Renata, a leftover from his previous marriage. The presence of a pert au pair, Monique, serves only to make J feel more isolated and self-conscious. What she’d like is someone to blame.
Writing letters in her head to imaginary friends, J delights in dwelling on the hapless Renata, who “invites a kind of cruelty.” This is an invitation J fully intends to take up—and like so many stepmothers before her, she will find that wickedness, once indulged, is a difficult habit to kick. A mordant black splinter of a book, Caroline Blackwood’s first novel The Stepmother stands as proof positive of her eternal mastery—and mockery—of the darkest depths of human feeling.
A lavish Upper West Side apartment is the site of a familial cold war about to enter a phase of dangerous escalation.
J is a lonely woman without even the luxury of being alone. Her husband has fled to Paris with his latest flame, but he’s left J not only with their own four-year-old daughter, Sally Ann, but with the sulky cake-mix addicted, thirteen-year-old Renata, a leftover from his previous marriage. The presence of a pert au pair, Monique, serves only to make J feel more isolated and self-conscious. What she’d like is someone to blame.
Writing letters in her head to imaginary friends, J delights in dwelling on the hapless Renata, who “invites a kind of cruelty.” This is an invitation J fully intends to take up—and like so many stepmothers before her, she will find that wickedness, once indulged, is a difficult habit to kick. A mordant black splinter of a book, Caroline Blackwood’s first novel The Stepmother stands as proof positive of her eternal mastery—and mockery—of the darkest depths of human feeling.
120 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 1976
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About the author
Caroline Blackwood
16 books183 followerswas a writer, and the eldest child of The 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava and the brewery heiress Maureen Guinness.
A well-known figure in the literary world through her journalism and her novels, Lady Caroline Blackwood was equally well known for her high-profile marriages, first to the artist Lucian Freud, then to the composer Israel Citkowitz and finally to the poet Robert Lowell, who described her as "a mermaid who dines upon the bones of her winded lovers". Her novels are known for their wit and intelligence, and one in particular is scathingly autobiographical in describing her unhappy childhood.
She was born into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family from Ulster at 4 Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge, her parents' London home. She was, she admitted, "scantily educated" at, among other schools, Rockport School (County Down) and Downham (Essex). After a finishing school in Oxford she was presented as a debutante in 1949 at a ball held at Londonderry House.
A well-known figure in the literary world through her journalism and her novels, Lady Caroline Blackwood was equally well known for her high-profile marriages, first to the artist Lucian Freud, then to the composer Israel Citkowitz and finally to the poet Robert Lowell, who described her as "a mermaid who dines upon the bones of her winded lovers". Her novels are known for their wit and intelligence, and one in particular is scathingly autobiographical in describing her unhappy childhood.
She was born into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family from Ulster at 4 Hans Crescent in Knightsbridge, her parents' London home. She was, she admitted, "scantily educated" at, among other schools, Rockport School (County Down) and Downham (Essex). After a finishing school in Oxford she was presented as a debutante in 1949 at a ball held at Londonderry House.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
July 21, 2025
First published in 1976, Irish author Caroline Blackwood’s incredibly unsettling debut reminded me of the domestic gothic associated with writers like Barbara Comyns, particularly Comyns’s gruelling representations of callous parents and neglected children in books like The Vet’s Daughter. Unlike that novel, Blackwood’s doesn’t openly delve into the realms of the fantastic but there’s still something fairytale-like about her account of the relationship between an unravelling stepmother and outcast stepdaughter - with its cloistered women walled up in a variation on a mythical castle or tower. Blackwood’s narrator is J who describes herself as a version of Snow White’s evil stepmother. J’s in her thirties but already considered past her prime. J outlines her all-too-familiar crisis in a series of unaddressed letters. J’s wealthy husband Arnold has abandoned her, running off to France with a much younger woman. J’s been allowed to remain in an upscale Manhattan apartment building – not unlike the infamous Dakota - in exchange for keeping their four-year-old Sally Ann and Arnold’s 13-year-old daughter Renata.
Like Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba Blackwood’s narrative disrupts the notion that communities of women are automatically benign and supportive. J’s household is horribly fractured and J’s overwhelmed by violent emotions. Blackwood’s focus is on J’s relationship with Renata. Renata arouses J’s intense disgust partly sparked by Renata’s inability - or refusal - to conform to accepted ideals of feminine beauty. Renata’s unruly, “fat” body spills over into the space around her. Described by J as clumsy and ungainly, the reclusive Renata dominates J’s thoughts. J even wonders if Renata’s appearance was the catalyst for Arnold’s departure. But at the same time, it’s clear J’s attempts to be suitably “womanly” haven’t secured her happiness. She once wanted to be a painter but instead gave into the expectations of wifedom. Although J’s still unable to fully relinquish her identity as the partner of a highly-successful man – echoes of Blackwood’s own experience of being relegated to the status of muse/trophy wife to painter Lucien Freud and later poet Robert Lowell.
J’s letters convey her frustrations, her ambivalence and anxieties, all of which revolve around the largely-silent Renata who spends her days in her room watching TV or baking using readymade mixes. J describes Renata in excruciating detail, highlighting her apparent flaws including using too much loo roll and regularly clogging the plumbing. As the seemingly-voracious Renata expands, J gets smaller and smaller burying her personal desires and appetites – in keeping with Arnold’s preferences, he hated being seen with Renata. But J’s equally aware of her own contradictions, tortured by self-loathing over her ambivalence about her maternal role – Sally Ann is consigned to the care of au pair Monique and mostly kept out of sight.
Blackwood’s novel’s thought to be inspired by her difficult interactions with stepdaughter Natalya who died aged 17 in horrific circumstances linked to her use of heroin. But I think reading this solely autobiographically does it a disservice. It’s a remarkably inventive play on the cruel mother, the subject of countless classic stories and ballads. For me, it’s most effective viewed as social and cultural critique, a powerful depiction of the damage inflicted by deep-seated misogyny, so pervasive it’s all-too-easily internalised. J’s situation, her internal conflicts, downing Valium, living life in what’s become a “velvet coffin” is all-too-recognisable. Renata’s arrival coincides with J’s realisation that she’s mired in suffocating domesticity that’s stifled her creativity. In many ways Renata seems to be a mirror, or reflection, of J herself, the spectre of everything she’s so desperately trying to deny. And it seems significant that their confinement in the luxury home provided by Arnold is juxtaposed with a New York riddled with menace and brutality, a perilous place for women who dare to venture out alone. The tantalisingly ambiguous ending may be off-putting for some but I thought it was in keeping with Blackwood’s underlying themes, the problems she’s exploring here - none of which are easily resolved. I read this in the Virago edition which comes with a fascinating introduction by Heidi Julavits.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Virago Modern Classics for an ARC
Like Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba Blackwood’s narrative disrupts the notion that communities of women are automatically benign and supportive. J’s household is horribly fractured and J’s overwhelmed by violent emotions. Blackwood’s focus is on J’s relationship with Renata. Renata arouses J’s intense disgust partly sparked by Renata’s inability - or refusal - to conform to accepted ideals of feminine beauty. Renata’s unruly, “fat” body spills over into the space around her. Described by J as clumsy and ungainly, the reclusive Renata dominates J’s thoughts. J even wonders if Renata’s appearance was the catalyst for Arnold’s departure. But at the same time, it’s clear J’s attempts to be suitably “womanly” haven’t secured her happiness. She once wanted to be a painter but instead gave into the expectations of wifedom. Although J’s still unable to fully relinquish her identity as the partner of a highly-successful man – echoes of Blackwood’s own experience of being relegated to the status of muse/trophy wife to painter Lucien Freud and later poet Robert Lowell.
J’s letters convey her frustrations, her ambivalence and anxieties, all of which revolve around the largely-silent Renata who spends her days in her room watching TV or baking using readymade mixes. J describes Renata in excruciating detail, highlighting her apparent flaws including using too much loo roll and regularly clogging the plumbing. As the seemingly-voracious Renata expands, J gets smaller and smaller burying her personal desires and appetites – in keeping with Arnold’s preferences, he hated being seen with Renata. But J’s equally aware of her own contradictions, tortured by self-loathing over her ambivalence about her maternal role – Sally Ann is consigned to the care of au pair Monique and mostly kept out of sight.
Blackwood’s novel’s thought to be inspired by her difficult interactions with stepdaughter Natalya who died aged 17 in horrific circumstances linked to her use of heroin. But I think reading this solely autobiographically does it a disservice. It’s a remarkably inventive play on the cruel mother, the subject of countless classic stories and ballads. For me, it’s most effective viewed as social and cultural critique, a powerful depiction of the damage inflicted by deep-seated misogyny, so pervasive it’s all-too-easily internalised. J’s situation, her internal conflicts, downing Valium, living life in what’s become a “velvet coffin” is all-too-recognisable. Renata’s arrival coincides with J’s realisation that she’s mired in suffocating domesticity that’s stifled her creativity. In many ways Renata seems to be a mirror, or reflection, of J herself, the spectre of everything she’s so desperately trying to deny. And it seems significant that their confinement in the luxury home provided by Arnold is juxtaposed with a New York riddled with menace and brutality, a perilous place for women who dare to venture out alone. The tantalisingly ambiguous ending may be off-putting for some but I thought it was in keeping with Blackwood’s underlying themes, the problems she’s exploring here - none of which are easily resolved. I read this in the Virago edition which comes with a fascinating introduction by Heidi Julavits.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Virago Modern Classics for an ARC
October 28, 2021
Mi primera lectura de esta autora y me ha sorprendido por lo bien escrita que está y la facilidad con que se lee, porque es muy divertida e irreverente.
La protagonista es una mujer abandonada por su marido, fracaso matrimonial que la ha puesto en modo destroyer total y que paga con las 3 mujeres con las que convive en un estupendo piso de Manhattan con ella: su hija Sally Ann, su hijastra Renata y Monique, la au pair francesa que le ha enviado su ex-marido que está en París con su nueva novia.
He convertido este piso en una especie de cámara de torturas. Nunca creí que sería capaz de crear un infierno semejante con el pequeño elenco de personajes que tengo a mi cargo.
El relato está estructurado como una serie de cartas que la protagonista firma como 'J' destinadas a una persona imaginaria, porque, a diferencia de Monique, no tiene a nadie a quien escribir:
Estoy terriblemente disgustada. He descubierto que Monique me detesta. Ayer tuve ocasión de echar un vistazo por encima de su hombro mientras escribía una de sus cartas, y pude leer la siguiente frase: 'La femme ici est abominable.' Nunca le perdonaré que se haya atrevido a escribir una frase tan acertada como demoledora.
La figura del marido infiel y ausente planea sobre la casa, que a pesar de su magnífica situación y vistas, es como una trampa para las cuatro mujeres. La atmósfera de crueldad se mezcla con el humor y evoluciona de forma ingeniosa - no hacia el típico feel-good, sino a una conclusión más original.
Muy recomendable.
La protagonista es una mujer abandonada por su marido, fracaso matrimonial que la ha puesto en modo destroyer total y que paga con las 3 mujeres con las que convive en un estupendo piso de Manhattan con ella: su hija Sally Ann, su hijastra Renata y Monique, la au pair francesa que le ha enviado su ex-marido que está en París con su nueva novia.
He convertido este piso en una especie de cámara de torturas. Nunca creí que sería capaz de crear un infierno semejante con el pequeño elenco de personajes que tengo a mi cargo.
El relato está estructurado como una serie de cartas que la protagonista firma como 'J' destinadas a una persona imaginaria, porque, a diferencia de Monique, no tiene a nadie a quien escribir:
Estoy terriblemente disgustada. He descubierto que Monique me detesta. Ayer tuve ocasión de echar un vistazo por encima de su hombro mientras escribía una de sus cartas, y pude leer la siguiente frase: 'La femme ici est abominable.' Nunca le perdonaré que se haya atrevido a escribir una frase tan acertada como demoledora.
La figura del marido infiel y ausente planea sobre la casa, que a pesar de su magnífica situación y vistas, es como una trampa para las cuatro mujeres. La atmósfera de crueldad se mezcla con el humor y evoluciona de forma ingeniosa - no hacia el típico feel-good, sino a una conclusión más original.
Muy recomendable.
September 14, 2024
The way Caroline Blackwood writes characters is unmatched. I absolutely devoured this and could not put it down. She manages to create characters that feel so real yet always with a slightly strange and unsettling edge.
September 2, 2024
My last book, Queenless, was about the intense love between mother and daughter told from the daughter's pov, this novella is about a stepmother and stepdaughter, told from the stepmother’s pov. Both books were told in the form of journal entries or letters, but that is where the similarities end.
The stepmother, identified only as J, sits in her enviably gorgeous NYC apartment looking out at the spectacular views composing letters in her head. Her husband Arnold has left her for another woman and moved to France and J has realized that the apartment and his very generous settlement are meant to pressure her into keeping and raising Arnold's unattractive 13 yr old daughter, Renata. All of J's fury, humiliations, and pain are heaped onto Renata, Arnold, and the French au pair Arnold arranged for J and their 4 yr old daughter, in these letters. J never says or does anything abusive to Renata, J's revenge is in her neglect of the lonely, unloved girl.
What kept me reading 90 pages of venomous letters was the sharp wit of the author, Caroline Blackwood, heir to the Guinness fortune, and the insight into the values of mid-20th century aristocracy. Neither J nor Renata are one dimensional, they are honest with themselves and each other, especially J who makes no excuses for her misplaced rage, so this brilliantly written, blistering critique of negligent caretaking was hard to put down.
Another 5 ⭐ book from McNally Editions! Highly recommended.
The stepmother, identified only as J, sits in her enviably gorgeous NYC apartment looking out at the spectacular views composing letters in her head. Her husband Arnold has left her for another woman and moved to France and J has realized that the apartment and his very generous settlement are meant to pressure her into keeping and raising Arnold's unattractive 13 yr old daughter, Renata. All of J's fury, humiliations, and pain are heaped onto Renata, Arnold, and the French au pair Arnold arranged for J and their 4 yr old daughter, in these letters. J never says or does anything abusive to Renata, J's revenge is in her neglect of the lonely, unloved girl.
What kept me reading 90 pages of venomous letters was the sharp wit of the author, Caroline Blackwood, heir to the Guinness fortune, and the insight into the values of mid-20th century aristocracy. Neither J nor Renata are one dimensional, they are honest with themselves and each other, especially J who makes no excuses for her misplaced rage, so this brilliantly written, blistering critique of negligent caretaking was hard to put down.
Another 5 ⭐ book from McNally Editions! Highly recommended.
May 11, 2025
Quite an unsettling read, but oh so good. Told in a series of imaginary letters written by J about her situation. She has recently been left by her husband who has moved to paris, and taken up with a young French girl, leaving her behind with his daughter, Renata, as well as their own daughter and an au pair. He has left her with a generous allowance, in an expensive, penthouse apartment in Manhattan, where she sits for hours looking at the view. She behaves appallingly towards the au pair, but even worse towards her step daughter, but she feel see there is an unspoken agreement that she must look after Renata in exchange for her apartment.
She is self aware, and knows that she is being cruel to both girls, but seems unable to help herself. She blames Renata for the break-up of her marriage. Renata is apparently awkward, and doesn't fit in. The husband was embarrassed by her. Now she mainly watched tv in her room, or cooks instant cake mixes.
It's a darkly compelling novella, and though she is described as an evil stepmother, I thought she was broken, and her ex was the real villain of the piece to begin with, by the end, I was less sure. Quick and quite addictive.
*Many thanks to Netgally and Virago for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
She is self aware, and knows that she is being cruel to both girls, but seems unable to help herself. She blames Renata for the break-up of her marriage. Renata is apparently awkward, and doesn't fit in. The husband was embarrassed by her. Now she mainly watched tv in her room, or cooks instant cake mixes.
It's a darkly compelling novella, and though she is described as an evil stepmother, I thought she was broken, and her ex was the real villain of the piece to begin with, by the end, I was less sure. Quick and quite addictive.
*Many thanks to Netgally and Virago for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
September 25, 2025
Blackwood is every shade of marvelous I can imagine and then some. She has this little signature move, a device if you must, whereby she says the most horrible, superficial, and judgmental shit about her characters as, effectively, a post-script in sentences. It is mordant and hilarious. It's catnip to me, and I adore her books FOR it. Sure, this novel is deeply fucked up and deals with the heaviest shit imaginable. When did that dictate there could be no levity, and who said?
March 8, 2025
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WORKING WOMEN'S DAY! READ HORRIBLE WOMEN!
October 26, 2025
loved this. claustrophobic and menacing and tragic with a perfect last line
September 24, 2021
Se podría considerar como una historia epistolar ya que está estructurada como las cartas mentales que la protagonista escribe en su cabeza sin llegar a plasmar nunca sobre el papel lo que le ocurre, como lectura simple y sin ahondar sería solo eso, pero al pensar un poco en lo que supuestamente escribe es un caso difícil de encuadrar, una mujer abandonada por su marido que además pone el océano entre ellos y le enjareta una hija de un matrimonio anterior pero en las mejores condiciones económicas y vitales.
La protagonista desarrolla un trauma contra todo lo que le rodea, su hija, la hija del marido, la au pair, se aísla y se recrea en un sentimiento hostil, negativo, vengativo contra todos, al atisbar la realidad su mundo se viene abajo y toda esa maldad, esa mala sangre, ese odio frenético que lleva dentro se desmorona.
El final muy consecuente con la historia.
De todas maneras esperaba más y no ha llegado a convencerme.
La protagonista desarrolla un trauma contra todo lo que le rodea, su hija, la hija del marido, la au pair, se aísla y se recrea en un sentimiento hostil, negativo, vengativo contra todos, al atisbar la realidad su mundo se viene abajo y toda esa maldad, esa mala sangre, ese odio frenético que lleva dentro se desmorona.
El final muy consecuente con la historia.
De todas maneras esperaba más y no ha llegado a convencerme.
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January 27, 2025Incisive and precise, sometimes uncomfortable. I keep thinking if this was written today, it would more likely be from the stepdaughter Renata's perspective. In revealing the wicked stepmother's inner world, Blackwood subverts a trope beyond her time. Anyway, The Stepdaughter is marketed a certain way, but there is an interesting gap between the self-agonizing and how things play out in reality. The narrator J flays Renata in her mental letters to Dearest So-and-so, but we don't know how much of that vitriol actually makes it across to the intended target. More revealing would be whether the reader thinks J's thoughts are valid, if not worthy of consideration. Will be thinking about this for a while.
August 28, 2024
Loved this. A lot. Made me want to pick up Great Granny Webster next.
December 1, 2021
J. tiene envidia de las cartas que recibe y escribe su asistenta, así que ella toma como pasatiempo escribir sus propias cartas a un destinatario inexistente. En trámites de divorcio, J. no está en su mejor momento: vive en un lujoso piso de Manhattan con una hija de 4 años a la que ignora, con su hijastra de 13 que le repugna y con Monique, que hace todas las tareas del hogar. Y gracias a la incomunicación y a los desprecios, ha conseguido que la vida en ese piso sea un infierno. Como ella misma sabe y nos cuenta, la violencia física no es la única manera de maltratar a alguien.
Aunque sea la protagonista quien nos explique la situación, al ser ella tan consciente de lo que está mal en su vida, de lo que está haciendo mal, es imposible no sentir compasión por las otras habitantes del piso. Sobre todo por Renata, su hijastra, a quien define como un ser abominable... pero incluso a través de sus palabras podemos ver en ella a un ser indefenso.
Esta novela breve es todo lo contrario a lo que podemos considerar feelgood. Es una lectura incómoda, claustrofóbica, porque refleja muy bien lo que nos puede ocurrir a cualquiera si dejamos que el rencor y la furia tomen las tiendas de nuestra vida. J. no quiere enfrentarse a su verdadero problema, y siempre acaba hablándonos de Renata evitando el terreno pantanoso de su propia salud mental. Sabe que algo no está funcionando bien, pero no quiere que nadie la ayude. El libro es de los años 70, ahora los problemas serían otros, pero la psicología de J. es sin duda lo que más me ha gustado de la obra.
Aunque sea la protagonista quien nos explique la situación, al ser ella tan consciente de lo que está mal en su vida, de lo que está haciendo mal, es imposible no sentir compasión por las otras habitantes del piso. Sobre todo por Renata, su hijastra, a quien define como un ser abominable... pero incluso a través de sus palabras podemos ver en ella a un ser indefenso.
Esta novela breve es todo lo contrario a lo que podemos considerar feelgood. Es una lectura incómoda, claustrofóbica, porque refleja muy bien lo que nos puede ocurrir a cualquiera si dejamos que el rencor y la furia tomen las tiendas de nuestra vida. J. no quiere enfrentarse a su verdadero problema, y siempre acaba hablándonos de Renata evitando el terreno pantanoso de su propia salud mental. Sabe que algo no está funcionando bien, pero no quiere que nadie la ayude. El libro es de los años 70, ahora los problemas serían otros, pero la psicología de J. es sin duda lo que más me ha gustado de la obra.
October 8, 2024
good luck to the friends i’ve identified as unhinged enough to receive a copy of this for christmas
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September 29, 2025The real hero of this story is Martha who, at the very end, swoops in to let J know she looks like shit and says “There are moments in life when what a woman really needs is a wife.”
September 16, 2019
The premise sounded fascinating, so decided to check the book from the library. Has to be runner up for most unusual (wierdest) book I can recall reading: Pond still holds that title.
Came away feeling the main character is an unreliable narrator, but how much of one I'm just not sure. The shock of her husband's abandoning her, pretty much cooped up in the fantastic apartment with the au pair, daughter and step-daughter, gotta say that had to affect her mental state. In that sense, it's a journal of a woman in progressive decline. The stepdaughter, who certainly has issues of her own, provides a more, I dunno ... reasonable voice when she finally becomes a player near the end. Frustratingly, it's left to the reader to piece together the husband's side of the story from what's implied - as a sort of literary Rorschach Test! Doubt I missed it in such a short book, but Renata's (stepdaughter) mother was the first wife, the protaginist here is the third, and not a word about the second at all!
The last sentence was one of the best closing lines I've run across in a book.
Came away feeling the main character is an unreliable narrator, but how much of one I'm just not sure. The shock of her husband's abandoning her, pretty much cooped up in the fantastic apartment with the au pair, daughter and step-daughter, gotta say that had to affect her mental state. In that sense, it's a journal of a woman in progressive decline. The stepdaughter, who certainly has issues of her own, provides a more, I dunno ... reasonable voice when she finally becomes a player near the end. Frustratingly, it's left to the reader to piece together the husband's side of the story from what's implied - as a sort of literary Rorschach Test! Doubt I missed it in such a short book, but Renata's (stepdaughter) mother was the first wife, the protaginist here is the third, and not a word about the second at all!
The last sentence was one of the best closing lines I've run across in a book.
October 26, 2025
it just builds and builds and builds - darkly funny and incredibly sad
November 29, 2021
Esta breve novela me ha demostrado que pueden acumularse grandes dosis de maldad, mala leche, crueldad y humor negro en tan solo 110 páginas.
Estilísticamente, "La hijastra" es impecable: con gran maestría y elegancia estilística (sorprendente, pues fue la primera novela de Caroline Blackwood), utilizando el estilo epistolar, la autora logra reflejar a la perfección tanto el estado emocional y mental de la remitente unidireccional de las cartas, como la situación por la que atraviesan ese grupo de 4 mujeres (la au pair Monique, la hijastra Renata, la hija de cuatro años del matrimonio Sally Ann y la autora de esas misivas a una remitente imaginaria, de la que tan solo sabemos que firma como J) al ser abandonadas por Arnold, flamante y reciente ex marido de J, y que es un protagonista más de la novela, con una ausencia tan palpable que en sí misma se convierte en presencia.
Tanto los inmisericordes retratos de las restantes protagonistas, como los hechos en sí los conocemos desde un único punto de vista: el de J, la cual, a medida que avance la historia, y aunque haga esfuerzos de ser objetiva y autocrítica consigo misma, no se revelará como una fuente del todo fiable, ya que los niveles de desquicie y obsesión alcanzan tales cotas que te hacen plantearte hasta qué punto las cosas fueron tal y como ella las percibió y sintió (afortunadamente, Blackwood acaba optando por intercalar algunos diálogos en esas cartas imaginarias que piensa J, en las que rememora algunas conversaciones con terceras personas, lo que nos permite ponernos un poco más en contexto).
Ahora bien, el argumento en sí de esta breve novela no es que sea nada del otro jueves: una historia archiconocida de una mujer a la que acaban de abandonar (y bastante de mala manera, por cierto) por una chica mucho más joven, y que se encuentra de repente con una hijastra, una niña propia muy pequeña y una au pair francesa, casi adolescente... sin saber gestionar nada de eso, porque está demasiado sumida en su ira y su dolor.
Al principio las cartas me hacían gracia, poniendo de relieve, con mucho sarcasmo e ironía, la maldad y mezquindad de J... pero a medida que va avanzando, que vamos viendo el deterioro mental cada vez mayor de J, la cual está realmente desquiciada y paga con inocentes su frustración, la verdad, dejó de hacerme gracia, y empezó a provocarme verdadera angustia.
J es una persona horrible, (está pensada para serlo, para que no nos guste) y su ex marido Arnold tampoco es mejor... pero no he podido evitar sentir muchísima compasión y empatía por Renata, la hijastra, una niña de tan solo 13 años absolutamente vulnerable.
En cuanto al final, lo siento: sé que la autora quería que fuera impactante, pero a mí me ha parecido absolutamente precipitado y fallido.
Así pues, la experiencia lectora se me queda a medio camino: me ha gustado, pero no me ha entusiasmado.
Estilísticamente, "La hijastra" es impecable: con gran maestría y elegancia estilística (sorprendente, pues fue la primera novela de Caroline Blackwood), utilizando el estilo epistolar, la autora logra reflejar a la perfección tanto el estado emocional y mental de la remitente unidireccional de las cartas, como la situación por la que atraviesan ese grupo de 4 mujeres (la au pair Monique, la hijastra Renata, la hija de cuatro años del matrimonio Sally Ann y la autora de esas misivas a una remitente imaginaria, de la que tan solo sabemos que firma como J) al ser abandonadas por Arnold, flamante y reciente ex marido de J, y que es un protagonista más de la novela, con una ausencia tan palpable que en sí misma se convierte en presencia.
Tanto los inmisericordes retratos de las restantes protagonistas, como los hechos en sí los conocemos desde un único punto de vista: el de J, la cual, a medida que avance la historia, y aunque haga esfuerzos de ser objetiva y autocrítica consigo misma, no se revelará como una fuente del todo fiable, ya que los niveles de desquicie y obsesión alcanzan tales cotas que te hacen plantearte hasta qué punto las cosas fueron tal y como ella las percibió y sintió (afortunadamente, Blackwood acaba optando por intercalar algunos diálogos en esas cartas imaginarias que piensa J, en las que rememora algunas conversaciones con terceras personas, lo que nos permite ponernos un poco más en contexto).
Ahora bien, el argumento en sí de esta breve novela no es que sea nada del otro jueves: una historia archiconocida de una mujer a la que acaban de abandonar (y bastante de mala manera, por cierto) por una chica mucho más joven, y que se encuentra de repente con una hijastra, una niña propia muy pequeña y una au pair francesa, casi adolescente... sin saber gestionar nada de eso, porque está demasiado sumida en su ira y su dolor.
Al principio las cartas me hacían gracia, poniendo de relieve, con mucho sarcasmo e ironía, la maldad y mezquindad de J... pero a medida que va avanzando, que vamos viendo el deterioro mental cada vez mayor de J, la cual está realmente desquiciada y paga con inocentes su frustración, la verdad, dejó de hacerme gracia, y empezó a provocarme verdadera angustia.
J es una persona horrible, (está pensada para serlo, para que no nos guste) y su ex marido Arnold tampoco es mejor... pero no he podido evitar sentir muchísima compasión y empatía por Renata, la hijastra, una niña de tan solo 13 años absolutamente vulnerable.
En cuanto al final, lo siento: sé que la autora quería que fuera impactante, pero a mí me ha parecido absolutamente precipitado y fallido.
Así pues, la experiencia lectora se me queda a medio camino: me ha gustado, pero no me ha entusiasmado.
January 31, 2025
The Stepdaughter is a story written in “letters,” although main character J is just thinking them in her head, not writing them down, so it feels more like diary entries. Reading this was like being privy to Snow White’s wicked stepmother’s inner thoughts. And boy, are her thoughts wicked…
One of the most interesting aspects of reading this is, very early on, you realize that J is an unreliable narrator. The extent to which she is unreliable is unclear, which leads to a dizzying reading experience as you have to constantly sift through J’s narrative to find the truth. If you love unreliable narrators, you’ll have a blast! If you find them frustrating, you’ll be miserable reading this.
I also thought it was interesting that each of the three female characters (stepmother, stepdaughter, and nanny) seem to represent different ways of dealing with trauma. In a way, it seems like they’re almost one character, fractured into three parts by circumstances, and trapped in the story’s narrative by the actions of one man.
One of the most interesting aspects of reading this is, very early on, you realize that J is an unreliable narrator. The extent to which she is unreliable is unclear, which leads to a dizzying reading experience as you have to constantly sift through J’s narrative to find the truth. If you love unreliable narrators, you’ll have a blast! If you find them frustrating, you’ll be miserable reading this.
I also thought it was interesting that each of the three female characters (stepmother, stepdaughter, and nanny) seem to represent different ways of dealing with trauma. In a way, it seems like they’re almost one character, fractured into three parts by circumstances, and trapped in the story’s narrative by the actions of one man.
May 9, 2025
Tengo opiniones encontradas con esta pequeñísima novela epistolar.
Primero me costó entrar a ella porque no podía con la protagonista que escribe cartas tan odiosas que ni siquiera se atreve a enviarle a nadie, porque ella sabe que son odiosas... Pero a mitad de la novelita pasa algo, hay una conversación que lo cambia todo y de ahí en adelante pues sí ya agarró mayor fluidez. El final es abierto y si no les gusta esto pues no lo leas, a mi es una de las cosas que le subió puntaje, que al inicio incluso pensé abandonarla.
Sí que la recomiendo, pero ya hice las advertencias...
Se me olvidaba que había leído otra novela de la autora, la anciana señora Webster, que también da sensación de ambigüedad, sólo que esta está narrada desde una mansión en Manhattan y por eso la imagen de la cubierta, muy acertada por cierto y la otra desde una vieja mansión en Inglaterra... Me gustó más la otra.
Primero me costó entrar a ella porque no podía con la protagonista que escribe cartas tan odiosas que ni siquiera se atreve a enviarle a nadie, porque ella sabe que son odiosas... Pero a mitad de la novelita pasa algo, hay una conversación que lo cambia todo y de ahí en adelante pues sí ya agarró mayor fluidez. El final es abierto y si no les gusta esto pues no lo leas, a mi es una de las cosas que le subió puntaje, que al inicio incluso pensé abandonarla.
Sí que la recomiendo, pero ya hice las advertencias...
Se me olvidaba que había leído otra novela de la autora, la anciana señora Webster, que también da sensación de ambigüedad, sólo que esta está narrada desde una mansión en Manhattan y por eso la imagen de la cubierta, muy acertada por cierto y la otra desde una vieja mansión en Inglaterra... Me gustó más la otra.
September 6, 2024
Un novela epistolar de 110 páginas que lees en un suspiro. Irónico, incisivo, con un sentido del humor brutal. Me ha encantado. Eso si, el final no es complaciente, a mi me ha gustado, pero entiendo que no sea para todos los gustos.
June 17, 2025
I’ve never read anything by Caroline Blackwood, but decided to try this book as I was intrigued by the comparisons to authors like Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith. Although she wrote several novels, short story collections and works of non-fiction, Blackwood, who was a Guinness heiress, seems to have been better known as a socialite and muse (she inspired the art of Lucian Freud and the poetry of Robert Lowell, two of her three husbands). She really deserves to be known for her own work as well as her influence on other people’s and I’m glad to see that some of her books, including this one, have been reissued recently.
The Stepdaughter was first published in 1976 and is novella length, which is a perfect way to try out a new author without having to commit to something longer. The book is narrated by a woman referred to only as J, and takes the form of letters she is ‘writing’ in her mind to an imaginary friend. J has been deserted by Arnold, her husband, who has gone to live in Paris with his French girlfriend, leaving her behind in an expensive Manhattan apartment with their four-year-old daughter and an au pair, whom she dislikes. There’s also a fourth member of the household – Renata, her husband’s teenage daughter from a previous marriage. It seems clear to J that Arnold will only allow her to go on living in the apartment if she continues to look after Renata. The only problem is, she hates the girl, resents her presence and can’t even bear to look at her.
The narrator’s attitude towards Renata is horrible. It’s obvious to the reader that Renata, who is still just a child, is desperately unhappy and in need of love and affection. However, this doesn’t seem to occur to J (or maybe it does, but she doesn’t care). She sees her stepdaughter as someone to be despised – an awkward, overweight, unattractive girl whose only interests are baking and eating cakes and sitting in her bedroom watching television. J uses her imaginary letters as an outlet to express her feelings about Renata and as the book progresses she becomes more and more fixated on her hatred of the girl, blaming her for everything that’s wrong in her life.
The situation in the apartment sounds unbearable, for J but particularly for poor Renata, so it’s not surprising that eventually things do inevitably reach a turning point. It’s not a happy ending and not what I would have preferred, but at least J manages to redeem herself a tiny bit, gaining a deeper understanding of both herself and Renata and regretting that things have happened the way they have. Although J’s sheer nastiness and cruelty make this book an uncomfortable and unsettling read, it’s also a very compelling one. It wouldn’t feel right to say that I ‘enjoyed’ it, but I was gripped by it and read it in one day.
The Stepdaughter was first published in 1976 and is novella length, which is a perfect way to try out a new author without having to commit to something longer. The book is narrated by a woman referred to only as J, and takes the form of letters she is ‘writing’ in her mind to an imaginary friend. J has been deserted by Arnold, her husband, who has gone to live in Paris with his French girlfriend, leaving her behind in an expensive Manhattan apartment with their four-year-old daughter and an au pair, whom she dislikes. There’s also a fourth member of the household – Renata, her husband’s teenage daughter from a previous marriage. It seems clear to J that Arnold will only allow her to go on living in the apartment if she continues to look after Renata. The only problem is, she hates the girl, resents her presence and can’t even bear to look at her.
The narrator’s attitude towards Renata is horrible. It’s obvious to the reader that Renata, who is still just a child, is desperately unhappy and in need of love and affection. However, this doesn’t seem to occur to J (or maybe it does, but she doesn’t care). She sees her stepdaughter as someone to be despised – an awkward, overweight, unattractive girl whose only interests are baking and eating cakes and sitting in her bedroom watching television. J uses her imaginary letters as an outlet to express her feelings about Renata and as the book progresses she becomes more and more fixated on her hatred of the girl, blaming her for everything that’s wrong in her life.
The situation in the apartment sounds unbearable, for J but particularly for poor Renata, so it’s not surprising that eventually things do inevitably reach a turning point. It’s not a happy ending and not what I would have preferred, but at least J manages to redeem herself a tiny bit, gaining a deeper understanding of both herself and Renata and regretting that things have happened the way they have. Although J’s sheer nastiness and cruelty make this book an uncomfortable and unsettling read, it’s also a very compelling one. It wouldn’t feel right to say that I ‘enjoyed’ it, but I was gripped by it and read it in one day.
September 13, 2025
this gave me a similar feeling as the bell jar, but unlike sylvia plath’s novel, it wasn’t racist at all.
it is very good, the characters are interesting and the whole thing is so unsettling and makes you so uncomfortable at times, which is just too good for a story like this. i really liked it.
it is very good, the characters are interesting and the whole thing is so unsettling and makes you so uncomfortable at times, which is just too good for a story like this. i really liked it.
Want to read
July 7, 2025classics are so hit or miss for me... but everyone's reviews have me intrigued...
November 15, 2025
Wow… this novella was very unsettling to read, but I mean this in the best way possible!
I loved Caroline Blackwood’s writing in this novella, it felt like the perfect introduction to her works. I can’t wait to read more from her.
Right now, I am just sitting here feeling very appreciative that publication houses are finally give Blackwood her flowers for her exceptional writing instead of just being remembered for whom she was married too ♥️
I loved Caroline Blackwood’s writing in this novella, it felt like the perfect introduction to her works. I can’t wait to read more from her.
Right now, I am just sitting here feeling very appreciative that publication houses are finally give Blackwood her flowers for her exceptional writing instead of just being remembered for whom she was married too ♥️
November 10, 2025
I couldn’t help but wonder (SATC reference as set in New York) if Renata was overweight? Just weirdly was hardly ever mentioned. No but for real the crime renata committed in this story is that she existed, evil stepmother! Once again as i read my second Blackwood novel i am convinced she could become one of my favourite authors.
June 20, 2025
Oh, that final sentence though. This is a deliciously dark insight into the twisted psyche of our narrator, J. She is mean, selfish, and utterly inhumane to those around her which creates such a compelling read, making you tear through this novella in no time. The dark comedy does turn quite melancholy and introspective which provides a balance whilst also casting doubt on the reliability of everything we read prior, deftly handled!
August 2, 2024
The first thing that comes to mind while I’m sitting down to write a review for this book is the tweet that says, “Why do [we] bash ‘dead-beat’ dads for not being there for their kids but we never question if the child has bad vibes? Or if they're just unpleasant to be around?”
J’s husband has just left her for a younger woman *and* left her with his despicable daughter from a previous marriage. J hates her stepdaughter. J’s hatred for her stepdaughter is palpable through her diary entries. J’s sick with spite and seethes in disgust towards her stepdaughter.
I couldn’t put this book down. It’s one of those stories that spends a lot more time in the MC’s head than on plot development. If “no plot, just vibes” books aren’t your thing, The Stepdaughter might not be for you.
This is one of the most astute, psychological literary novels I’ve read in a long time. I loved it.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for my gifted eARC!
J’s husband has just left her for a younger woman *and* left her with his despicable daughter from a previous marriage. J hates her stepdaughter. J’s hatred for her stepdaughter is palpable through her diary entries. J’s sick with spite and seethes in disgust towards her stepdaughter.
I couldn’t put this book down. It’s one of those stories that spends a lot more time in the MC’s head than on plot development. If “no plot, just vibes” books aren’t your thing, The Stepdaughter might not be for you.
This is one of the most astute, psychological literary novels I’ve read in a long time. I loved it.
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for my gifted eARC!
May 17, 2024
An 80-page story from the POV of a woman whose husband has left her for Paris and a new woman. The narrator is cooped up in a beautiful penthouse in Manhattan with her four year old daughter, an au pair, and her thirteen year old stepdaughter. She's coming undone, feeling alone and consumed by her internal dialogue about why her husband left her, why he left her with his daughter, and how odd the stepdaughter is. It's a story about women at the mercy of the world... their father, their husband, men. Suffering, torturing yourself, uncertainty. The narrator is clearly unreliable, but how much? The stepdaughter is disgusting and stupid, or is she? Arnold, the father and ex, is a terrible and evil person, or is he?
A Rorschach test of sorts... I liked it.
Läste på svenska, kanske skulle kunna ge fem stjärnor om jag lästa på engelska.
A Rorschach test of sorts... I liked it.
Läste på svenska, kanske skulle kunna ge fem stjärnor om jag lästa på engelska.
August 10, 2021
81/2021 Es una novela muy cortita, unas 100 páginas de la colección Rara Avis que tantas alegrías me ha dado…
Esta no ha sido una de ellas, a ver, el libro no está mal. Una señora recién divorciada escribe cartas a una amiga imaginaria quejándose de su nueva vida, de su divorcio, de la nueva relación de su ex, pero sobre todo, quejándose de la hija de su marido, parece que una condición no escrita del divorcio tan ventajose es endilgarle (porque no lo podemos llamar de otra manera) a su hija de un matrimonio anterior y largarse con su nueva pareja.
No me ha entusiasmado, así que ahora no sé qué pensar de esta autora porque La anciana señora Webster me gustó bastante. Tengo pendiente Últimas noticias de la duquesa para desempatar. Ya os contaré.
Esta no ha sido una de ellas, a ver, el libro no está mal. Una señora recién divorciada escribe cartas a una amiga imaginaria quejándose de su nueva vida, de su divorcio, de la nueva relación de su ex, pero sobre todo, quejándose de la hija de su marido, parece que una condición no escrita del divorcio tan ventajose es endilgarle (porque no lo podemos llamar de otra manera) a su hija de un matrimonio anterior y largarse con su nueva pareja.
No me ha entusiasmado, así que ahora no sé qué pensar de esta autora porque La anciana señora Webster me gustó bastante. Tengo pendiente Últimas noticias de la duquesa para desempatar. Ya os contaré.
March 14, 2017
breve romanzo claustrofobico ambientato in un lussuoso attico di manhattan. un avvocato di successo fugge da un matrimonio infelice lasciando dietro di sé una figlia grassa e triste e una ex moglie depressa- che racconta (attraverso lettere a destinatari inesistenti) la frustrazione e l'incapacità di creare un legame o una forma di empatia con la figliastra. idea ottima, ma l'ho trovato piatto e irrisolto e la voce narrante mi ha profondamente irritato.
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