Stevie‘s review of Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons
Women’s Historical Fiction published by Sourcebooks Landmark 12 Sep 23
Romeo and Juliet is far from my favourite Shakespeare play, but I do like reworkings and sequels in which the women take control of their lives and get to have a suitable happy ending. This novel focuses on the romance between Romeo and Rosaline and its aftermath, following the timeline of the play, as well as previous events alluded to by various of the play’s main characters. The story opens with Rosaline Capulet and her father mourning the death of Rosaline’s mother in an outbreak of the plague and preparing to leave the city for the healthier air of the countryside. Rosaline is horrified to learn of her mother’s dying wish: that she be sent to a nunnery rather than marry. However, she is able to defer that move for a short period of time and resolves to make the most of her last few days of freedom, beginning by sneaking out of the family’s house (disguised as a boy, this being Shakespeare) to attend a ball held by the Montagues – her family’s deadly enemies.
At the ball, Rosaline meets, and is smitten with, Romeo. The two embark on a secret romance and plan to elope. However, Romeo keeps finding excuses to delay their wedding and engages in some other pieces of shitty behaviour. Eventually, Romeo meets Juliet and abandons Rosaline for her younger, fairer cousin. Meanwhile, Rosaline is making some very interesting discoveries about Romeo’s past and about goings-on in the nunnery. She realises she’s had a lucky escape with Romeo and enlists the help of the nuns to save Juliet from the fate of some of Romeo’s past loves.
I really enjoyed the unexpected detective elements of this story and how the various mysteries and secret plans were gradually revealed. Rosaline is smart and resourceful, and I particularly appreciated her cunning in getting Romeo’s friend, the friar, out of the way as part of her strategy to save Juliet. Although the author has said this is intended to take place in a fantasy Verona, as per Shakespeare’s play, I still felt slightly jarred by apparent anachronisms at times. Not my favourite reworking of the play (that honour goes to the musical & Juliet), but still a fun read.
Grade: B
Summary:
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.
Hear an excerpt.
