Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch

Serena Valentino

Aug 2018 · Disney · Narrated by Lucy Rayner

About this audiobook

The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful. And always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the old witch, Mother Gothel? Where does she come from? And how does she come across the magical golden flower? Here is one account that recounts a version of the story that has remained untold for centuries ... until now. It is a tale of mothers and daughters, of youth and dark magic. It is a tale of the old witch.

Ratings and reviews

I absolutely love the detail put into the description in these books. Mother knows best was the first one I read. If you do not know how to like the villain and accept they had a story before the fairytale then of course you will not like these books. The villains all became the way they are for a reason just as any humans do. Kuddos to disney for finding this exceptional writer with such a vivid imagination and such an open mind.

It was not what I expected to be. After reading this you tend to feel bad for Gothel, but as it goes further, she became very desperate. I like how they twisted Rapunzel's story into this book. Love it!

About the author

Serena Valentino is known for her groundbreaking work on the comic book series GloomCookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales. Her first novel, Fairest of All, is a fresh take on the story of Disney’s Snow White from the perspective of the film’s villain, the Wicked Queen.

Lucy Rayner is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and award-winning British actress. She has starred in numerous short and feature-length films, including English20 and Total Retribution. For her performance in Bolero, she was named Best Supporting Actress at the 2013 Madrid International Film Festival. She has worked on both sides of the Atlantic in a number of theater productions and films, many of which have screened at festivals around the world. She has a master’s degree in history from the University of Edinburgh and is a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City.