Forsyth (
Bitter Greens) tells the story of Henriette "Dortchen" Dorothea, wild muse to the Grimm brothers, in this absorbing novel. Dortchen grew up in Hesse-Cassel, a small German kingdom, during the Napoleonic wars. One of six daughters of a brutal father and a laudanum-addicted mother, Dortchen escapes the horrors of her home life by visiting her neighbors, the Grimm family. By sharing old folk tales with the two oldest brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, she is able to recognize parallels between the stories and her own life. 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.
VERDICT Strongly recommended for fans of historical fiction. ["This intriguing look at a little-known historical figure has definite appeal for fairy-tale aficionados": LJ 6/1/15 review of the St. Martin's hc.]
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