Kate Forsyth (born 3 June 1966) is an Australian author. She is best known for her historical novel ''Bitter Greens'', which interweaves a retelling of the ''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...

'' fairy tale with the true life story of the woman who first told the tale, the 17th century French writer

Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, Charlotte-Rose Caumont La Force, or Mademoiselle de La Force (1654–1724) was a French novelist and poet. Her best-known work was her 1698 fairy tale ''Persinette'' which was adapted by the Brothers Grimm i ...

. Forsyth is also the author of several children's books, including ''The Gypsy Crown'', ''The Puzzle Ring'', ''The Starthorn Tree'', ''The Wildkin's Curse'', ''The Starkin Crown'' and ''Dragon Gold''. She has also published two

heroic fantasy Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of ...

series, ''The Witches of Eileanan'' and ''Rhiannon's Ride'', the poetry collection ''Radiance'', and the novel ''Full Fathom Five'' under her maiden name, Kate Humphrey. She is a five-time

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

winner. She is married with three children, and lives in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She is also a direct descendant of Charlotte Barton, the author of Australia's earliest known children's book. Forsyth's older sister, Belinda Murrell, is also an author for children and young adults and their younger brother, Nick Humphrey, is a

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

author.

Journalism

After graduating in a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Literature from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

, Forsyth worked as a full-time

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, including Editor of ''Hair'' and deputy editor of ''Money Watch'' before quitting to work

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, writing articles for ''

Vogue Australia ''Vogue'' ''Australia'' is the Australian edition of '' Vogue'' magazine. Prior to becoming a stand-alone edition, the Australian edition operated as a supplement to British Vogue from 1952. The magazine is published by News Corp under a licence f ...

'', ''

Black+White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, a ...

'', ''Studio Bambini'', ''Mode Brides'', ''Interiors'' and ''Australian Collections'' amongst others. Freelancing allowed her to concentrate more on her poetry and to be President of the Poets Union. She publishes her poetry under her maiden name, Kate Humphrey. This has appeared in Australian newspapers, such as ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', and '' The Bulletin'', and domestic and international literary magazines.

Author

Writing in ''

'' Melanie Kembrey rates Forsyth as an "internationally acclaimed author...best known for her re-imaginings of fairy stories from a feminist perspective." Forsyth wrote "Full Fathom Five" as the thesis for her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Writing, and then, to relieve the tedium of studying theorists such as

Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, ; ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud", Lacan gave yearly seminars in Paris, from 1953 to 1981, and ...

Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

and de Saussure for her exams, she started reading a multi-book fantasy series. The turning point was when her husband, Greg Forsyth, suggested that she write such a series herself. Forsyth undertook a doctorate in fairy-tale retelling at the University of Technology, Sydney. Her novel ''Bitter Greens'' was written as the creative component of her doctorate, which one reviewer felt resulted in a story that was "two books', and subsequently Forsyth examined the many different retellings of

in ''The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower,'' which reviewer Belinda Calderone considers "remarkably clear" when "Forsyth is dealing with such a wide-ranging time period, and simultaneously presenting three kinds of writing. Forsyth is active in presenting workshops for writers, and is a frequently a public speaker, often in schools, and also in literary festivals and conferences, bookshops, libraries and museums, on fantasy, folk tales and the role of women in them. With Joan London, Andy Griffiths and

David Malouf David George Joseph Malouf (; born 20 March 1934) is an Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and Libretto, librettist. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008, Malouf has lectured at both the University ...

she contributed to ''The Simple Act of Reading'', a compilation of essays and memoir pieces detailing the way reading has guided these writers. Forsyth is a generous mentor for, and collaborator with, other writers and creatives including co-author

Kim Wilkins Kim Wilkins (born 22 December 1966) is an Australian writer of popular fiction based in Brisbane, Queensland. She is the author of more than twenty-five mass-market novels, including her debut horror novel, ''The Infernal'' (1997), which won Au ...

and illustrator Kathleen Jennings for ''The Silver Well'', which won the 2017 Aurealis Award for Best Collection; Sarah Mills with whom she presented the combination cooking and book-review show ''Word of Mouth TV''; artist Lorena Carrington with whom she partnered on ''Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women'' in 2019 and others in their series of illustrated feminist fairy tales since; and with sister Belinda Murrell for joint research on their ''Searching for Charlotte.''

Reception

Of her ''The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower,'' Melissa Mullins writes that Forsyth "weaves together the strands of personal narrative, creative process, and historical and biographical detail, acknowledging that; "Forsyth has researched broadly and made connections relevant to the creative process. In addition, she collects a solid list of key critics in the field of fairy-tale and folklore studies; however, Forsyth’s treatment and interpretation of the ideas of these critics varies in its success." Academics Fletcher, Driscoll and Wilkins, in defining Australian popular fiction and fantasy note that while Forsyth identifies as an Australian author descended from Australia’s first published children’s writer Charlotte Waring Atkinson, she is writing for a global readership, and only one of her 40 books is set in Australia. Edward James in the ''Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature'' remarks on the domination in the first decade of the 21st century of the popular fantasy genre by Australian women, and Tierney includes Kate Forsyth amongst them, with

Emily Rodda Jennifer June Rowe, (born 2 April 1948), is an Australian author. Her crime fiction for adults is published under her own name, while her children's fiction is published under the pseudonyms Emily Rodda and Mary-Anne Dickinson. She is well kn ...

Isobelle Carmody Isobelle Jane Carmody (born 16 June 1958) is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature. She is recipient of the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction. Biography Isobelle Carmody ...

, Jessica Townsend, in "finding success in Australia and internationally," despite there being little distinctively 'Australian' about their works. She goes on to distinguish the recurrence of female characters in Forsyth's adult fiction "refusing to bow to societal norms" of patriarchy. Grimm authority Cay Dollerup reviewing her historical novel ''The Wild Girl'' comments that "it is a tribute to the fundamental and inherent truths of the Grimm Tales that Kate Forsyth can, over a span of nearly 200 years, write a fascinating, humorous and also shocking novel based on their lives. It is loyal to is characters and communicates the concerns, the hopes, and fears of Germans during and after the Napoleon's wars in modern terms."

Awards

Forsyth's work has won numerous Aurealis Awards: she won both the Aurealis and the William Atheling Jr. Award for ''The Rebirth of Rapunzel'', and was given an honourable mention at the 2013 Norma K. Hemming Awards for ''Bitter Greens,'' for which she also won the American Library Association Award for Best Historical Novel In 2018 she won the Australian Fairy Tale Society Award for her inspiration and contribution to Australian fairy tale culture.

Works

Fiction

The Witches of Eileanan series

*''Dragonclaw'' (1997) - released as ''The Witches of Eileanan'' in the US. *''The Pool of Two Moons'' (1998) *''The Cursed Towers'' (1999) *''The Forbidden Land'' (2000) *''The Skull of the World'' (2001) *''The Fathomless Caves'' (2002)

Rhiannon's Ride series

*''The Tower of Ravens'' (2004) *''The Shining City'' (2005) *''The Heart of Stars'' (2006)

The Chain of Charms series ''(for 9-18-year olds)''

*''The Gypsy Crown'' (2006) *''The Silver Horse'' (2006) *''The Herb of Grace'' (2007) *''The Cat's Eye Shell'' (2007) *''The Lightning Bolt'' (2007) *''The Butterfly in Amber'' (2007)

Ben and Tim's Magical Misadventures ''(for young readers)''

*''Dragon Gold'' (2005) *''Wishing For Trouble'' (2006) *''Sea Magic'' (2008)

The Impossible Quest series

*''Escape from Wolfhaven Castle'' (2014) *''The Wolves of the Witchwood'' (2015) *''The Beast of Blackmoor Bog'' (2015) *''The Drowned Kingdom'' (2015) *''Battle of The Heroes'' (2015)

The Chronicles of Estelliana

*''The Starthorn Tree'' (2002) *''The Wildkin's Curse'' (2010) *''The Starkin Crown'' (May 2011)

Other children's and young adult books

* * * * * *

Contemporary fiction

*''Full Fathom Five'' - as Kate Humphrey (2003), a retelling of

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

set in modern-day

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

*''Dancing on Knives'' (2014) revised version of ''Full Fathom Five'' - as Kate Forsyth

Historical fiction

*''Bitter Greens'' (2012), a retelling of

set in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and fictionalised biography of

*''The Wild Girl'' (March 2013), a retelling of All-Kinds-of-Fur based on the life of

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author, philologist and anthropologist. He was the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1 ...

's wife Dortchen Wild *''The Beast's Garden'' (August 2015), a retelling of

The Singing, Springing Lark "The Singing, Springing Lark", "The Singing, Soaring Lark", "The Lady and the Lion" or "Lily and the Lion" () is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, appearing as tale no. 88. It is Aarne–Thompson type 425C. Others of this t ...

set in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

*''Beauty in Thorns'' (July 2017), a retelling of

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

and a fictionalised account of the history of the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

*''The Blue Rose'' (July 2019), a retelling of the tale ''The Blue Rose'' set in Revolutionary France and

Imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

*''The Crimson Thread'' (2022), a retelling of the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...

's myth set in World War II Greece

Other adults' books

*''The Silver Well'' (2017) - short stories collection with

Short stories

*''Love, Pain & Self-Will'' (1994) - as Kate Humphrey *''The Boy from the Monster Forest'' (1998) *''Morgan of the Fay'' (2002) *''The Key'' (2008) *''Count Stoneheart and the First Christmas Tree'' (2012) * *''Tales of the Sidhe'' (2015), two tales later re-published in the collections ''Vasilisa the Wise'' and ''The Buried Moon''

Non fiction

*''The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower'' (2016) *''Searching for Charlotte'' (2020) - with her sister Belinda Murrell, a bibliomemoir about their ancestor Charlotte Waring Atkinson

Poetry

*''Moths'' (1993) *''The Knowledge of Angels'' (1996) *''Night Vigil'' (1998) - as Kate Humphrey *''Siren Soul'' (1998) - as Kate Humphrey *''Falling from Grace'' (2000) - as Kate Humphrey *''I See My Life'' (2000) - as Kate Humphrey *''Midnight Garden'' (2000) - as Kate Humphrey *''World Lurches'' (2000) - as Kate Humphrey *''Mythologies'' (2004) *''Radiance'' (2004)

Essays

*''Heroic Fantasy'' (1998) *''Fantasy Book Reviews'' (Aurealis, #33-35) (2004) *''Cecilia Dart-Thornton and The Crowthistle Chronicles'' (2008) *''Fantasy News'' (Aurealis #40) (2008) *''Alison Croggon and The Books of Pellinor'' (2008) *''The Forgotten Fairy Tale Tellers'' (2013) *''Introduction'' to The Year of Ancient Ghosts (2013) *''Thirteen Things I Love About Kim Wilkins'' (2013)

References

External links

Kate Forsyth Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, Kate 1966 births Living people Australian fantasy writers Australian women novelists Australian women journalists Australian journalists 20th-century Australian novelists Australian women science fiction and fantasy writers Australian science fiction writers Writers from Sydney 20th-century Australian women writers Australian writers