This is one of my all-time favorite books.  It should be noted that I simply adore retellings of classic fairy tales.  Beauty is Robin McKinley’s retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  In this rendition, there are three sisters, Grace, Hope, and Honour.  Honour, having a bit of a dislike for her name, creates a nickname, Beauty, which sticks. 

Beauty’s father is a wealthy merchant who loses his fortune and is forced to relocate his family to the countryside.  On his way back from a business trip the father becomes lost in the woods, finds an enchanted castle, and is treated like a king for a night.  The next morning he leaves, but picks a rose for his youngest daughter Beauty, leading the master of the magical castle - a disfigured beast - to demand repayment in the form of the merchant's youngest daughter.  He returns home with the news, Beauty agrees...and you know the rest.