Bitter Greens

By: Kate Forsyth

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 19 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

From internationally best-selling author Kate Forsyth comes a historical novel that gorgeously interweaves the Rapunzel fairy tale with the true life story of French novelist Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force.

Charlotte-Rose has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sister Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, 100 years earlier, was sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens.

After Margherita's father steals from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off unless he and his wife give away their 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. Selena 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.

This sumptuous novel holds the stories of three women, braided together to create a compelling tale of desire, black magic, and the redemptive power of love. Bitter Greens is an impressive feat of storytelling.

©2012 Kate Forsyth (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

One of the best book ever

I loved this book!! seriously one of the best books I've read/listened to. I highly recommend it

Astonishing storytelling

Easily the best beesion of this story I’ve ever heard. 19 hours went by in a flash! A beautiful and violent tale.

AMAZING.

I LOVED Bitter Greens, and it was easily a favorite this year. Kate Forsyth re-tells the story of Rapunzel in a richly historical way that both follows the fairy tale and elaborates on it. This book is filled with mystery, ties to the past, and lore so rich it both feeds your nostalgia for the tales of youth and sucks in your inner adult. Such a fantastic read!

A Fairytale True story, magically told!

What did you love best about Bitter Greens?

Too hard of a question, I love Everything about this book!

Would you recommend Bitter Greens to your friends? Why or why not?

YES! Great story, based on truth, written great, and told magically by the reader!

What three words best describe Kate Reading’s performance?

Beautiful, Heartfelt, perfect!

If you could take any character from Bitter Greens out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The Witch of course, I'd pick her brains for spells!!!

Any additional comments?

I love learning about history in well written historical novels, and this is one of the best ones, read by one of my most favorit Readers. The Author is an incredible and talented author obviously, and the Reader for this audio book was chosen wisely. Anyone else, and they would have not been able to bring the story as alive as Kate Reading did.

So good

I’ve been disappointed in almost every free selection audible has, but this one is perfection. Captivating and smart. The narrator is wonderful too.

Starts slow, gets better later

The beginning three or so hours were slow, and I thought about stopping listening, but it picked up and the later part of the book was very good.

Enthralling

Loved this retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel, love this narrator ! The story was just a little too long, and most of the bodice-ripping scenes were not necessary to the plot.

Loved loved loved this story!

You won't regret listening to this book! I hope there are more like it to listen to!

fairy tales

really loved this story of Rapansal
nice to hear the back stories to fairy tales.

Very intriguing. Loved the Narrator.

I wasn't sure, at first, if I would enjoy the story. However, after just a few minutes, I became intrigued. I've always loved period pieces and enjoy fantasy. To me, this book encapsulated both. I absolutely loved the Narrator. She brought so much color and life to the characters. Her use of subtle changes in intonation and inflection gave each character a life of their own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. And, I love Kate Forsyth's stories so much. I read the entire series of The Witches of Eileanan and enjoyed them very much.