 In her entry for The Bloomsbury Introduction to Popular Fiction , Maryan Wherry posits that Lord of Scoundrels represents a modern retelling of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast , suggesting Chase 's story is a morality tale of " restoring humanity " that is directed at " all levels of society " ( rather than at the lower classes as classic fairytales were intended ) . Chase makes direct reference to this fairytale in the novel , when Dain silently compares his relationship with Jessica to that of Beauty and the Beast . 
