Kate Forsyth, Bitter Greens (2012)
We tend to think of the tellers of fairy tales as anonymous, their personalities smoothed out and obscured by time, details of their lives irrelevant to the archetypal stories that have come down to us. But in fact the tellers and writers of these familiar tales were often real, individual women, who were known by name to the male collectors and anthologizers who took over their work and put their own stamp on it. The erasure of this female literary history is an injustice that has yet to be corrected.
In Bitter Greens, Kate Forsyth brings to light — in decidedly fictional, quasi-fantasy form — the story of one of these creators, the French writer Charlotte-Rose de la Force, who set down the tale we now know as “Rapunzel.” She wasn’t the first or the last to do so, but she introduced important elements that we now take as essential to the story, including the healing of the blinded prince. In layers of tales within tales, Forsyth brings us into Charlotte-Rose’s glittering and precarious world, the court of the Sun King Louis XIV, then moves into stories of a century and more earlier, of a Venetian girl captured against her will, and of the witch whose revelation of her own dark history gives us insight into the origins of this tragedy and the elements of its redemption.
It’s a complex narrative to construct, and Forsyth does it well. She builds up her historical settings in rich and convincing detail, making us see and feel with the three women at their center. Only at the end does she falter a bit, in a rather hasty resolution that had less ambiguity than I personally would have preferred. But this didn’t diminish my pleasure in the book as a whole, or my interest in the fascinating, forgotten character of Charlotte-Rose herself. She illuminates much about the plight of women denied a way to express themselves other than through sexual means, and amazes us with the strength of her drive toward freedom. For all girls and women who are still locked in the tower of their own fears and uncertainties, she can be an inspiration.
I’m counting Bitter Greens for the “Fairy Tale” category of the Once Upon a Time challenge, Quest the Second.
Paperback release date: May 19 from St. Martin’s Griffin
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The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
I started this book last year, but had to return it to the library before I got very far. Thanks for reminding be to maybe check it out again.
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With its complex plot, it does take a certain amount of time and commitment to get into. I hope you enjoy it if you do pick it up again.
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This at least seems to be an original idea. It's hard to tell if it's something I would enjoy, though.
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It's not "straight" historical fiction, so you'd have to be willing to tolerate (or welcome) a fantasy element.
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I have heard such good things about Kate Forsyth, but this one sounded too rapey for me. But I'm looking forward to trying some of her other books — she has one about one of the Grimm brothers that sounds totally good.
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Yes, The Wild Girl — it sounds excellent. I'm going to be part of the blog tour, with a giveaway, so watch for it in July!
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I was surprised to find I didn't have any books by this author on my TBR shelf. She sounds like one I would like! Adding this book for later.
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I think you would like her too.
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I had Bitter Greens on my list one year of possibles for the OUaT challenge. Thanks for reminding me!
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It's an excellent choice for OUaT, with its focus on the teller of the tale.
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An interesting twist on the fairy tale theme! This sounds really interesting – I'll have to check it out!Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
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I hope you do!
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Oh wow, with the cover and the title, I would not have guessed this would be such a fascinating look at fairy tales and their historical beginnings! It sounds like it has a lot of layers, which really appeals to me. I would like to read this sometime!
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It is a multi-layered story, but the author handled that well. I loved the depth and complexity of it.
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I'm really looking forward to reading this book, and your review has whetted my appetite even more. I love the setting and the promise of a richly detailed world to dive into.Great review!
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Who wouldn't want to travel to Versailles and Venice?
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I considered requesting this book when it firsts came out and have been wishing I had for a while, it sounds so good!
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I think it would be a good one for summer reading.
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