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Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
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The most exciting historical retelling of 2023: a subversive, powerful untelling of Romeo and Juliet by New York Times bestselling author Natasha Solomons.
Was the greatest ever love story a lie?
The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love. Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo's attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life.
Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo's gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realizes that it is not only Juliet's reputation at stake, but her life. With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?
Shattering everything we thought we knew about Romeo and Juliet, Fair Rosaline is the spellbinding prequel to Shakespeare's best known tale, which exposes Romeo as a predator with a long history of pursuing much younger girls. Bold, lyrical, and chillingly relevant, Fair Rosaline reveals the dark subtext of the timeless story of star-crossed lovers: it's a feminist revision that will enthrall readers of bestselling literary retellings such as Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell and Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese.
II
HIS NAME IS ROMEO
THE PLAGUE RECEDED LIKE THE WATERS OF A FLOOD, LEAVING DITCHES OVERFLOWING WITH HASTILY BURIED DEAD. CROPS MOLDERED IN THE FIELDS, AND BRIDGES LAY UNREPAIRED AS THERE WERE NO MEN TO HEW THE TREES INTO TIMBER, NO CARTERS TO HAUL THE UNCUT PLANKS TO THE RIVERS, AND NO CARPENTERS TO MEND THE ROTTEN BEAMS.
Rosaline watched in bewilderment as her father went onto his knees to give the Almighty thanks for his deliverance. She would not give thanks. God had seen fit to take from her what mattered most and left a world broken and pitiful.
Yet several times a week, a grudging Rosaline was urged into the small church crammed with penitents and grateful supplicants, all expressing thanks to every saint they could remember that they too had been spared. She noticed that it was those of her father's age who prayed with the most ardor. The younger congregants stifled yawns and were distracted, ignoring even the friar spraying spittle in his fervor as he preached. Rosaline ...
Here are some of the comments posted about Fair Rosaline.
You can see the full discussion here.
"I sense another plague coming to the wicked men of Verona." What was your reaction to this statement?
Revenge! Despite the consecrated women maintaining their own cloistered environment, they still were active members of the town and quite well-informed as to the evils lurking among the patriarchal society of Verona and surrounding villages. ... - julib
Can you think of a character whose advice either of the girls might have respected?
It is difficult to imagine young teens listen to the advice of anyone. I think the closest would be Tybalt as he was same age and very close to Rosaline and Juliet - unfortunately he was also immature and not equipped to do anything other than react... - AmberH
Did Fair Rosaline change your interpretation of Romeo and Juliet at all? What about the author's note?
I read many of Shakespeare's plays a long time ago when I was quite young myself. I have wanted to go back and read several of his plays and after having read Hamnet and Fair Rosaline I think I should return to them. In my recollection, Romeo ... - mtnluvr
Did you learn anything new about the time period in which the story is set?
The really interesting thing I realized was the difference in the two cultures of Italy where is was set and England where it was seen. Different attitudes and England probably being far more open minded. Even though S. had never been to Italy he ... - juleyh
Do you feel Rosaline would have been enamored of Romeo if she wasn't slated for the convent?
Yes, he was handsome, charming, and experienced in "wooing" young women. - lisagewolb
I recommend Fair Rosaline to readers who've enjoyed books like Circe and Ariadne – novels that give voice to women who, until now, have been silenced. Its beautiful prose and outstanding historical detail should make it popular with those who appreciate well-written historical fiction, and its feminist themes make it a good choice for book discussions...continued
Full Review
(588 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf Den
I have not been able to stop thinking about this book ... Fair Rosaline is a gripping, spellbinding and wonderfully immersive book - and one that truly makes you think. I would be very surprised if everyone is not talking about it. Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne
Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic. Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools
A brilliant, feminist re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, Fair Rosaline is a gorgeously written version of Verona from Juliet's cousin, Rosaline's, point of view. What does Romeo truly look like through the eyes of a woman on the periphery of the original story? Natasha Solomons skillfully shows us another version of the star-crossed lovers - and the Romeo --we all think we know. I absolutely devoured this thought-provoking, female-centric take on Shakespeare.
In Natasha Solomons' novel Fair Rosaline, the eponymous heroine is destined for life in a convent – specifically Sant'Orsola in Mantua, Italy. Margherita Gonzaga d'Este, a wealthy widow, commissioned the convent in the early 17th century, sparing no expense; she hired architect and artist Antonio Maria Viani to design the building, and commissioned artwork for it from the best regional artists of the day. When completed in 1612, it was comprised of a square of fifty rooms framing a large courtyard, with an octagonal church anchoring it at one corner; the complex spanned a full city block.
The convent was one of many across Europe built for the Poor Clares, an order of Franciscan nuns formed in 1212 by St. Clare of Assisi under the ...
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