Author(s): James Norcliffe

NZ Fiction

A disappearance. An infatuation. The Frog Prince is an intriguing, multi-layered novel giving us a story, within a story, within a story. We might recall the kiss between the frog prince and the princess, but not necessarily the part where the princess angrily flings the frog against the wall. What was that all about? At an international school in France, the young teacher Cara Bernstein gives her explanation in a novel she's been writing about the Brothers Grimm. It doesn't seem relevant to Cara's own story and that of her New Zealand boyfriend David Cunningham. But when Cara disappears, will David be able to put the stories together to understand what has happened? And will any of the princesses and frogs be united happily ever after?