The Wizard of London

The Wizard of London is the fifth of Mercedes Lackey???s stand-alone novels in her ELEMENTAL MASTERS series of fairytale retellings. It???s so loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen???s ???The Snow Queen??? that you probably won???t even notice the few similarities. There???s an ice queen, but the theme of The Wizard of London (if there is one, which I doubt), has nothing to do with the theme of ???The Snow Queen.???

The story starts when a little girl named Sarah arrives from Africa (where her parents are missionaries) at a London boarding school that is known to educate and train the children of Elemental mages. There she finds an ethically and religiously diverse cast of excellent teachers and attendants. She also befriends a young street urchin named Nan whose mother is a neglectful drug addict. Together Sarah and Nan... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-wizard-of-london/

A pretty charming fairy tale retelling. I really liked the characters in the Harton school, and Lady Cordelia made a devious villain.