Fair Rosaline
A Novel
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4.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
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.
"Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic." —Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne
"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.." —Elodie Harper, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf Den
"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." — Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Solomons (I, Mona Lisa) gives voice to Rosaline Capulet, Juliet's cousin and Romeo's forgotten lover, in this feminist spin on Shakespeare's tragedy. Rosaline, only 15 when she loses her mother to pestilence, faces a future in a nunnery to escape the "ruinous expense of a dowry." As a final act of defiance, Rosaline decides to attend the Montagues' masque disguised as her brother Valentio, where she meets Romeo, who sees through her disguise and swears he is "disarmed" by her. Romeo's flattery is appealing to Rosaline, who feels like an outcast among the Capulets and has been told her "dark beauty" is not fashionable, and she's quickly swept into an intense but short-lived love affair, ending when Romeo meets Juliet. Rosaline's eyes are opened to Romeo's true nature, and she vows to save her cousin from a dark fate. Solomons challenges classic interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, painting Romeo as a predator who lures unwitting young girls and discards them, with the help of a friar, though the modern language and themes clumsily alternate with more Elizabethan language, and Rosaline's master plan seems to fall into place too conveniently. Still, this is entertaining and empowering.
