Giving voice to the women hidden between the lines of Rapunzel: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth #bookreview #BitterGreens #NetGalley

The amazing power and truth of the Rapunzel fairy tale comes alive for the first time in this breathtaking tale of desire, black magic and the redemptive power of love
French novelist 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. At the convent, 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 parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious 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. She 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.
Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.

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Hi and welcome to my review of Bitter Greens!

Bitter Greens was first published in 2012 but has been picked up again and republished by Allison & Busby. I’m not sure how it managed to escape my attention for the last 13 years but I do know that I didn’t hesitate to click that widget when lovely Josie Rushin offered it to me. Historical fiction combined with a fairy tale retelling? It couldn’t be more up my street!

Before long, I realised that my spidey senses had not let me astray: I truly loved Bitter Greens! I burned through those 500-something pages like there was no tomorrow. 

Charlotte-Rose’s tale was fascinating, especially her time at the court of Louis XIV, which is a time period I haven’t often encountered in fiction and which had me captivated. Selena’s storyline, her time as a courtesan in 16th century Venice as well as her role as La Bella Strega (the Beautiful Witch), was equally engrossing. I do enjoy a good villain origin story, and you know it’s done well when you don’t just hate them, but you also feel empathy towards them. Margherita’s (Rapunzel’s) tale was executed perfectly in view of the other two storylines, reading more like historical fiction with some magical realism than a true fairy tale.

I had a brilliant time with Bitter Greens. I was invested in all three storylines and while they all came to a natural ending, I didn’t want any of them to actually end. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Bitter Greens to readers of historical fiction.

Bitter Greens is out now with a shiny new cover from Allison & Busby.

Massive thanks to Allison & Busby and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.