The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth + a Giveaway

If you've been following the blog for a while then you might remember how excited I was about Kate Forsyth's Rapunzel retelling, Bitter Greens. And now she's back with the story of Wilhelm Grimm and his wife Dortchen. Thanks to the publisher, I get to offer up a copy to one of you lucky readers. Be sure to scroll through to the Rafflecopter to enter.

Dortchen knew she was in love with Wilhelm Grimm the first time she laid eyes on him. For years, they danced around one another, drawn together by undeniable affection. Sadly, though, Dortchen's own father was against the match and his death didn't make marrying any more of an option. With war surrounding them, the two persevered, living through poverty and French rule. And as Wilhelm and his brother strove to collect and preserve the stories that were their country's legacy, Dortchen and Wilhelm's love for one another never faded. 

We've all heard of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. We all know the stories they collected and compiled. But where did those stories come from? Turns out many of them came from Wilhelm's wife and other women like her. Kate Forsyth imagines their years together as a bit of a fairy tale in its own right, drawing from actual historical documents and the earliest printings of the Grimm brothers' stories to bring Dortchen to life for today's readers.

What I love about Forsyth's work is that she's incorporating real history with fairy tales. As was the case with Bitter Greens, her Rapunzel retelling, The Wild Girl combines the history of the era and the documented history of the Brothers Grimm and those around them, to weave together an enthralling tale with a very real backdrop. And though this is less a fairy tale retelling than an all out biographic fiction, it does still have that hint of wonderment we all love about the Grimm tales.

As she points out, much of Dortchen's life is unknown so there's understandably a lot of imagining and reimagining here. What is known, though, is that Dortchen shared some of the most famous Grimm tales with the brothers ("Rumpelstiltskin" and "Hänsel and Gretel," for example) and that Wilhelm and Dortchen did eventually marry. Wilhelm's longtime affection for Dortchen is documented as well. Pairing all of that with the historical happenings around them (Bonaparte's campaign to defeat EVERYTHING and his rule of Hesse-Cassel) makes for a great foundation, but it's Forsyth's true skill as a storyteller that makes this a stand out read.

Fans of historical fiction and fairy tale retellings alike will devour The Wild Girl - and will love every moment of it!

Rating: 4/5

And now for the giveaway! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, August 3. Open US only and no PO boxes please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway