#kate forsyth

[lorenacarrington]

I accidentally abandoned Tumblr 10 years ago. (oops) Since then, I've launched a career in book illustration - particularly in fairy tales. I worked entirely with photography, using digital montage with a focus on the silhouette. I work a lot with Kate Forsyth and Sophie Masson, finding long-lost, well-hidden and translated fairy tales. Hoping to find my people here!

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Luke Arnold is on panel with T. Kingfisher, Maria Lewis and Kate Forsyth at Supanova Melbourne

Source: New South Book Australia's instagram story

[proseconsreview]

September 2023 Review: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Image source

First edition: Allison & Busby Limited, UK 2012 Review copy: Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin’s Press), New York 2014 Page count: 495

“Each word was shaped with certainty, and I felt, more strongly than ever before in my life, that I had at last found my true path. I knew the story would change as I told it. No one can tell a story without transforming it in some way; it is part of the magic of storytelling. Like the troubadours of the past, who hid their messages in poems, songs and fairy tales, I too would hide my true purpose…It was by telling stories that I would save myself.” (Forsyth, p. 491)

Bitter Greens is a historical fantasy retelling of Rapunzel based on the life and work of French author Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force. Lyrical and evocative, Forsyth crafts a timeless tale of desire, love, and the power of storytelling.

France, 1697. Banished from the court of Versailles by the king after numerous scandals, Charlotte-Rose de la Force struggles to adjust to life in a backwater convent. She finds comfort in an old nun who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, was sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens. The girl, Margherita, watches helplessly as her parents are threatened by the hand of the law after stealing parsley from the garden of Selena Leonelli—courtesan, artistic muse, and witch. Only by relinquishing their daughter can they escape the penalty, but they refuse, and Selena takes matters into her own hands by stealing Margherita herself. Locked away in a tower, Margherita dreams of reuniting with her parents and sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does, but this fateful meeting will prove perilous for them both.

This was a dazzling book. Forsyth’s retelling of the Rapunzel myth transforms the story from a simple tale of wicked witches and walled-up maids to a complex tapestry that interweaves the lives of three women searching for freedom and love in a world set against them. Utilizing the real-life Charlotte-Rose de la Force as a character and a framing device was an inspired choice. I loved how Forsyth paralleled Charlotte-Rose’s experiences with those of Margherita and Selena, how each woman deals with being bound to a place she cannot leave, losing loved ones too soon, and indulging her fears and desires to the point of negligence, even cruelty. Their journeys are different, but the emotional impact resonates through the page and binds them together in a very satisfying way.

I also enjoyed how Forsyth unabashedly embraced the tone of fairytales in crafting her narrative. By introducing this version of Rapunzel through Charlotte-Rose’s eyes, we enter two worlds—sixteenth-century Venice and seventeenth-century Versailles—that are as fantastical as they are grounded in historical fact. One of my favourite scenes has Charlotte-Rose infiltrating the castle where her lover is being held captive, disguised as a bear while touring with the Comédie-Française; there’s no magic involved but it feels very fairytale-esque, like the princess in Perrault’s Donkeyskin or numerous animal-bride figures that populate the genre. The book is full of moments like these where witchcraft, intrigue, love affairs, and transformations are entwined with real-world events that have devasting, long-term consequences for our leads. In a more realistic historical depiction, it would feel ridiculous, but here, it’s charmingly rendered.

Where the book suffered was in its character distribution and pacing. Charlotte-Rose’s voice is the most prominent and when combined with Margherita’s and Selena’s storylines, the overarching narrative felt unevenly split between our three leads; sometimes it gave the wrong impression that the latter were only there to serve as thematic parallels to the former. This wasn’t helped by the non-linear approach Forsyth took to Charlotte-Rose’s narrative, jumping in time from one moment to the next. It wasn’t so grievous to the point of confusion, but it did leave me wondering if certain chapters would’ve been better placed in other parts of the book.

Technical issues aside, Bitter Greens is well worth the read. It’s rich in period detail and complex character dynamics but maintains a beautiful simplicity in its themes like any good fairytale does. Moreover, it’s a lovely tribute to the power of female authorship, and how the stories we tell can redeem us and shape our futures for the better.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

View more on Storygraph

[beautifulpaxielreads]

JOMP Book Photography Challenge, September 2022.

Day 2: Currently Reading

L-R:

Beauty in thorns by Kate Forsyth*

Don't hate the player by Alexis Nedd

The ivory key by Akshaya Raman

See you yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

*Aussie author

[friendly-neighbourhood-librarian]

Bitter Greens - Kate Forsyth

A historical Rapunzel retelling set in France and Italy.

Free-spirited storyteller Charlotte-Rose de la Force is banished from the court of Versailles to a convent after getting into trouble one too many times. Locked away and miserable, she finds solace in the garden where one of the nuns tells her the story of Petrosinella, or “Little Parsley,” a young girl from Venice who found herself in a relatable situation to Charlotte’s own, with an added touch of magic and the hope of escape. Told from the perspectives of Charlotte-Rose, Margherita (Rapunzel), and the witch Selena Leonelli, it explores the historical foundations of the fairy tale and the life of the woman who wrote it down.

Warning: There is a lot of sexual content in this book. Nothing graphically explicit, but it is very strongly implied, with a lot of "breasts" and "thighs" etc., and there are many instances throughout the book. Some of it is non-consensual or dubious consent, so if that's not your jam I would skip this one or at least tread carefully.

More fairy tales

[fuckitup-in-style]

You want asks? Here's a question for you: What's your favorite book and why?

Hi there! First off, thank you for doing this! I know I've been badgering a lot of my followers with passive-aggressive posts to let them know they can drop an ask at any time about anything so thanks for taking the time and effort to drop this one! I appreciate interacting with you!

What's my favourite book and why?

So, this answer changes a lot depending on what hidden gem resurrects itself in my very faulty memory chamber but I have to say, looking back on it now, it would have to be the Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth.

It's got everything, time travel, faeries, historical period, teen shenanigans, Scottish mythology and lore - all of which I absolutely love.

The story was about a girl who found out she was a Scottish heiress and moved from Australia to Scotland to meet her relative. She finds out about a curse that haunts her family line and a prophecy about the one who would defeat the curse and sets off to find "the one".

It was the book that first intrigued me about the Renaissance period, about Medieval History and mythology. I only read the book once when I was in my early teens but I constantly keep a lookout for it.

Although it's a children's book, the magic I felt reading it has continued to linger after all this time.

[harrypotterhousequotes]

GRYFFINDOR: "May my heart be kind, my mind fierce and my spirit brave." --Kate Forsyth

[treasureoftales]

“Nothing opens up the mind and the heart like books do, and so they have the power to change the whole world.”

The Beast’s Garden | Kate Forsyth