FICTION

Bitter Greens

Thomas Dunne: St. Martin's. Sept. 2014. 496p. ISBN 9781250047533. $25.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466847835. F
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OrangeReviewStarOnce there was a young woman living in the heart of Louis XIV's French court who dared to speak her mind, write, and fall in love, only to be banished to a convent because she could not hold her tongue. Many years earlier in Venice, a young girl was kidnapped and locked away in a tower by an evil witch. Australian novelist Forsyth (The Witches of Eileanan; The Wild Girl), in her U.S. hardcover debut, ties these two seemingly unrelated stories together to form a stunning interwoven tale based on the real-life story of Charlotte-Rose de la Force, the storyteller behind the most well-known version of Rapunzel. Charlotte-Rose's account of survival and hope is paired with that of her famous fairy tale heroine as both women face extraordinary circumstances.
VERDICT Forsyth, a PhD candidate in fairy tale retellings, reflects her depth of knowledge in this captivating novel that enchants with its gorgeous narrative and memorable characters who discover how the choices we make define and bind us. Full of palace intrigue, dark magic, romance, and lush, evocative descriptions, this is historical fiction at its finest.
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