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    Mother Knows Best

    A Tale of the Old Witch

    Part of Villains

    Author Serena Valentino
    Read by Lucy Rayner
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    On sale Jul 15, 2025 | 8 Hours and 0 Minutes | 9798217291595
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    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • This enchanting novel examines the tangled truths behind one of Disney’s most devious villains: Mother Gothel.

    Sometimes…she just let herself drift into other worlds—worlds she desperately wanted to inhabit. The world of magic. And this day was no different…

    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.
    Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where shies known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her New York Times bestselling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil, Mother Knows Best, The Odd Sisters, Evil Thing, Cold Hearted, Never Never, Fire and Fate, Kill the Beast, and Heartbroken. She is also the author of Evil Thing: A Villains Graphic Novel, Fairest of All: A Villains Graphic Novel, and the stand-alone novel Raising the Horseman. View titles by Serena Valentino

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    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • This enchanting novel examines the tangled truths behind one of Disney’s most devious villains: Mother Gothel.

    Sometimes…she just let herself drift into other worlds—worlds she desperately wanted to inhabit. The world of magic. And this day was no different…

    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.

    Author

    Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade. She has earned critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domains, where shies known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty, and extraordinary protagonists. The books in her New York Times bestselling Villains series are best enjoyed when read in the following order: Fairest of All, The Beast Within, Poor Unfortunate Soul, Mistress of All Evil, Mother Knows Best, The Odd Sisters, Evil Thing, Cold Hearted, Never Never, Fire and Fate, Kill the Beast, and Heartbroken. She is also the author of Evil Thing: A Villains Graphic Novel, Fairest of All: A Villains Graphic Novel, and the stand-alone novel Raising the Horseman. View titles by Serena Valentino

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