Bitter Greens

Charlotte-Rose de la Force 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, S?ur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is 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. Kate Forsyth's Bitter Greens is an impressive feat of storytelling.

KATE FORSYTH is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than twenty books, ranging from picture books to poetry to novels for both children and adults, including The Heart of Stars, The Forbidden Land, The Pool of Two Moons, and The Witches of Eileanan. She is the only author to win five Aurealis Awards in a single year and was recently voted one of Australia's Favourite 25 Novelists. Her books have been published in 14 countries. She is currently undertaking a doctorate in fairytale retellings at the University of Technology in Sydney. She lives in Sydney, Australia.