Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth
Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth
1 Rating(s)
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Bitter Greens

Author: Kate Forsyth

Narrator: Kate Reading

Unabridged: 19 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/23/2014

Synopsis

From internationally bestselling author Kate Forsyth comes a historical novel that gorgeously interweaves the Rapunzel fairy tale with the true life story of French novelist Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force.Charlotte-Rose 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, Sister Seraphina, 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.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 sumptuous novel holds the stories of three women, braided together to create a compelling tale of desire, black magic, and the redemptive power of love. Bitter Greens is an impressive feat of storytelling.

About Kate Forsyth

Kate Forsyth is an Australian writer and prizewinning author of more than thirty books, including novels for adults and children. She won five Aurealis Awards in a single year for her Chain of Charms series.

About Kate Reading

Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kate

This book has very deep roots that run right back into my childhood, when I was intrigued and enchanted by the original fairytale of Rapunzel. I have always wanted to write a retelling of the Rpaunzel fairytale but my problem was how to reinvent the tale and make it fresh and surprising and compelli......more

Goodreads review by Debra

I LOVED this book!!! The tale of Rapunzel has been brought to life in a book full of black magic, jealousy, greed, love, desire, and redemption. What worked in this book? EVERYTHING!!!! I have grown to love books told through various characters POV. I used to really get annoyed with lots of different......more

Goodreads review by Jessie Leigh

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog! An Easy Quiz To See If Bitter Greens Is For You: #1. Do you like strong, flawed and inherent compelling female narrators? #2. Do you enjoy reading new twists and interpretations of old fairytales? #3. Does historical fiction with excellent place-as-character (......more

Goodreads review by Maja

FAIRY TALE RETELLING PERFECTLY BLENDED WITH HISTORICAL FICTION 💛 ✨ Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019✨ ✨✨A books with a title that contains "salty", "sweet", "bitter", or "spicy"✨✨ I really had no expectations going into this book but I am so happy I picked it up. It combines two of my favourite genres -......more

Quotes

“Kate Forsyth’s Bitter Greens is an enthralling concoction of history and magic, an absorbing, richly detailed, and heart-wrenching reimagining of a timeless fairy tale.” Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival

“A magical blend of myth and history, truth and legend, Bitter Greens is one of those rare books that keeps you reading long after the lights have gone out, that carries you effortlessly to another place and time, that makes you weep and laugh and wish you could flip forward to make sure it all ends happily ever after—but for the fact that if you did so, you might miss a line, and no line of this book should be missed.” Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of The Ashford Affair

“See how three vividly drawn women cope with injustice, loneliness, fear, longing. See how they survive—or perpetrate—treachery. Surrender yourself to a master storyteller, to delicious detail and spunky heroines. Bitter Greens is a complex, dazzling achievement.” Susan Vreeland, New York Times bestselling author of Clara and Mr. Tiffany

“Kate Forsyth wields her pen with all the grace and finesse of a master swordsman. In Bitter Greens she conjures a lyrical fairy tale that is by turns breathtaking, inspiring, poetic, and heartbreakingly lovely. Set like a jewel within the events of history, it is pure, peerless enchantment.” Deanna Raybourn, New York Times bestselling author

“Threads of history and folklore are richly intertwined to form this spellbinding story.” Juliet Marillier, Alex Award–winning author of Daughter of the Forest

“The best fairy tale retelling since Angela Carter.” Kim Wilkins, Aurealis Award–winning author of Angel of Ruin

“A must for all lovers of historical fiction—Philippa Gregory watch out!” Pamela Freeman, Aurealis Award–winning author of The Veil of Gold

“Forsyth has transformed what must have been a truly massive amount of research into a rich and lively story, presenting historical realities that seem fantastical and fantastical elements that feel real.” Margo Lanagan, World Fantasy Award–winning author

“Skilfully weaving a delicious, disturbing, multicolored story, Kate Forsyth’s Bitter Greens grippingly brings to life a world of magic, corruption, cruelty, and love.” Sophie Masson, Wrightson Prize–winning author of The Hunt for Ned Kelly

“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.” Library Journal (starred review)

Awards

  • Library Journal Best Book
  • RUSA Reading List
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