“The book is interspersed with familiar fairy tales that listeners will recognize and appreciate. Kate Reading is the perfect narrator for this saga, giving the heroine a sympathetic voice without making her seem weak…Strongly recommended for fans of historical fiction.” Library Journal (audio review)
Description
One of six sisters, Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early nineteenth century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the handsome but very poor fairy-tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. It is a time of tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, Wilhelm and his brothers quietly rebel by preserving old, half-forgotten tales that had once been told by firesides of houses grand and small all over the land.
As Dortchen tells Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in what will one day become his and Jacob's famous fairy-tale collection, their love blossoms. But Dortchen's father will not give his consent for them to marry, and war, death, and poverty also conspire to keep the lovers apart. Yet Dortchen is determined to find a way.
Evocative and richly detailed, Kate Forsyth's The Wild Girl masterfully captures one young woman's enduring faith in love and the power of storytelling.
Praise
“The book is interspersed with familiar fairy tales that listeners will recognize and appreciate. Kate Reading is the perfect narrator for this saga, giving the heroine a sympathetic voice without making her seem weak…Strongly recommended for fans of historical fiction.” Library Journal (audio review)
“Forsyth tells the true story of Dortchen Wild, source of many of the most beloved fairy tales compiled by the famous Grimm brothers…a beautiful and often heartbreaking love story that is sure to move and captivate.” Booklist (starred review)
“[A] richly imagined tale of the girl who gave the Grimm brothers some of their best stories…Ultimately, this novel inhabits the ground between Philippa Gregory and Hilary Mantel. It is both entertaining and serious-minded, but it has about it too that little touch of magic that makes Kate Forsyth’s voice so distinctive, so uniquely Kate. An absolute pleasure to read.” Kim Wilkins, author of Angel of Ruin
“Against an intricately crafted tapestry of early nineteenth-century German daily life and tumultuous, tragic historical events, the story of star-crossed lovers Dortchen Wild and Wilhelm Grimm unfolds with a kind of dreamy, haunting precision.” Sophie Masson, author of Moonlight and Ashes
“In the bleak pages of history, Forsyth finds a story of enduring love and artistic integrity—her retelling is a fairy tale in itself.” Kirkus Reviews
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Jul 6, 2015 |
| Release Date | July 7, 2015 |
| Release Date Machine | 1436227200 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult |
Author Bio
Kate Forsyth wrote her first novel at the age of seven and has since sold more than a million copies around the world. Her books include Bitter Greens, a retelling of Rapunzel which won the 2015 American Library Association Award for Best Historical Fiction; The Wild Girl, the story of the forbidden romance behind the Grimm Brothers’s famous fairy tales, which was named the Most Memorable Love Story of 2013; and The Beast’s Garden, a retelling of “The Singing, Springing Lark” set in the underground resistance to Hitler in Nazi Germany. Recently voted one of Australia’s Favorite 15 Novelists, Kate Forsyth has been called “one of the finest writers of this generation.” She has a BA in literature, an MA in creative writing, and a doctorate in fairy-tale studies, and is also an accredited master storyteller with the Australian Guild of Storytellers.
Narrator Bio
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.
Overview
One of six sisters, Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early nineteenth century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the handsome but very poor fairy-tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. It is a time of tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, Wilhelm and his brothers quietly rebel by preserving old, half-forgotten tales that had once been told by firesides of houses grand and small all over the land.
As Dortchen tells Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in what will one day become his and Jacob's famous fairy-tale collection, their love blossoms. But Dortchen's father will not give his consent for them to marry, and war, death, and poverty also conspire to keep the lovers apart. Yet Dortchen is determined to find a way.
Evocative and richly detailed, Kate Forsyth's The Wild Girl masterfully captures one young woman's enduring faith in love and the power of storytelling.
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