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 Kate Forsyth imagines their years together as a bit of a fairy tale in its own right, drawing from actual historical documents and the earliest printings of the Grimm brothers' stories to bring Dortchen to life for today's readers.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.

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Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth + a Giveaway

Hi, everyone! I am super stoked to be part of the Bitter Greens blog tour today! You'll likely recall seeing this Rapunzel retelling in my Pre Pub Book Buzz post here, so you know it's been on my radar and is one I've been looking forward to for some time now. Well, now I get to tell you all about it and, thanks to the publisher, I get to offer up a copy to one of you lucky readers as well! (Be sure to read through to the bottom to enter.)

Charlotte-Rose's life at court comes to a quite abrupt end when she is exiled by the King. Forced to join the sisters at the Abbey of Gercy-en-Brie, the stubborn authoress hopes to gain back the King's favor and eventually return to Versailles. Until then, she must endure her punishment as best she can. Life at the abbey is miserable - it's cold, the work is often backbreaking, and Charlotte-Rose's comments and temperament are very unwelcome. Then one of the nuns begins to tell her a story. A story of a young girl with long and lustrous locks of hair. A girl who is stolen from her parents and imprisoned by a wicked sorceress. 

Kate Forsyth hasn't just created a wonderful fairy tale retelling here. Nope, Bitter Greens is also fabulous historical fiction. Before now, I knew "Rapunzel" only as one of the Grimm tales. Imagine my surprise then to learn that the Grimm brothers' story is actually a retelling itself, one based on a French story by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force. Forsyth heads up Bitter Greens with a note on the history of the tale, attributing the first appearance of "Rapunzel" to Giambattista Basile. The note goes on to explain that no one is quite sure how the story traveled from Giambattista to Charlotte-Rose - Bitter Greens is then Forsyth's imagining of that.

Charlotte-Rose has an interesting story on her own. She was a member of the French court. She was secretly married to a man much younger than herself. And she was banished to a nunnery by order of the King. Forsyth's version of the exile is none too pleasant but the story Sœr Seraphina shares with her does offer her something of a reprieve from abbey life. For someone who spent so much of her time writing, it's easy to see how this would be a welcome and fascinating distraction for the character. (Upon arriving at the abbey, she is relieved of all of her quills, ink, and paper, a punishment that seems to sting for Charlotte-Rose more than anything else.)

I don't know that I'll ever tire of these retellings! If, however, you think you might be nearing the end of your own fascination with the trend, I do highly suggest you make room in your TBR for Bitter Greens anyway. It's such a unique version of the story and, again, a wonderful blend of fantasy, fairy tale, and history!

You can see a full listing of the tour posts over at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours here.

And now for the giveaway. To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, October 27. US only and no PO boxes please.

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Pre Pub Book Buzz: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

I don't ever want to get tired of fairy tale retellings. I love them! The more unique the better :) Kate Forsyth's Bitter Greens (a play on Rapunzel) is just one of many new retellings and it looks completely amazing. I can't wait to get my hot little hands on a copy.

Here's the description from Goodreads for you:

Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

After Margherita's father steals from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife give away their little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. Selena is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.

Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.

This one doesn't hit shelves here in the States until September 23 but if you're lucky enough to live in Forsyth's native Australia it has been out for some time (along with a couple of others by Forsyth that I hope will hit shelves here before too long).