Hosting an assemblage of highly respected scholars, Jo Parnell analyzes depiction of stepmothers in pop culture narratives from various points across the globe, including the United States of America, France, Maghreb, Algeria, Germany, England, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Nigeria, and South Korea.

From ancient times to the present, the stepmother has been likened to her folktale and fairy tale counterpart. In present times, with the rapid increases of global modernization, and with world political ideologies undergoing sweeping changes, people's perceptions of the stepmother are also changing. Through the lenses of race, ethnicity, gender, and class, this book explores the role and experiences pertaining to the stepmother in various cultures. Contributors examine and compare familial and societal duties as well as the personal realities and experiences of the stepmother in real life. By forming a direct comparison between the fictionalized archetype and their real world counterparts, the question of the original intention behind these portrayals is brought to the forefront.