Jones, Diana Wynne - Howl's Moving Castle : 224 pages, © 1986
Cursed to appear old by the Witch of the Waste, eighteen-year-old Sophie sets out to make her fortune anyway. She meets the wizard Howl, a disreputable rogue, and begins to fall in love with him. She joins forces with a fire demon to break hers and Howl's curses, and to stop the Witch. While not based on a specific fairy tale, this novel plays with the conventions of many folk and fairy stories, to great and humorous effect.
Sequels:
Castle in the Air
House of Many Ways
Readalikes:
The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip