Description

One of the most anticipated novels of the year – the captivating and powerful untelling of Romeo & Juliet . . .

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 realises 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?

A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare’s best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline’s story.

Hamnet meets My Dark Vanessa in this fierce, feminist, intensely gripping novel; captivating and chillingly relevant, FAIR ROSALINE takes everything you thought you knew about Romeo and Juliet and turns it on its head . . .

‘Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic’
Jennifer Saint
‘I have not been able to stop thinking about this book . . . Fair Rosaline is a gripping, spellbinding and wonderfully immersive’
Elodie Harper
‘Brilliant and beguiling . . . A terrific novel – very clever and alluring’
William Boyd
‘Thought-provoking . . . a rich and atmospheric’
Katherine J. Chen, author of Joan
‘A gripping story of female agency and strength. Rosaline is a compelling heroine and I was rooting for her from the first page’
Isabelle Schuler, author of Lady Macbethad
‘Intelligent, imaginative, irreverent. A gripping Romeo and Juliet for the 21st century’
Annabel Abbs
‘A brilliant, feminist re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet. I absolutely devoured this’
Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools
‘Exquisitely written, wonderfully lyrical and richly immersive – this a story we all know made fresh and chillingly relevant’
Ellery Lloyd
‘A deliciously dark take on the iconic love story’
Woman & Home
‘A dark, powerful and thought-provoking novel’
Culture Fly

SELECTED AS ONE TO WATCH IN 2023 IN THE EVENING STANDARD
EDITOR’S CHOICE IN THE BOOKSELLER
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS FOR AUGUST IN THE I NEWSPAPER

Publisher Review

Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic. * Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne * I have not been able to stop thinking about this book . . . Fair Rosaline is a gripping, spellbinding and wonderfully immersive book - and one that truly makes you think. I would be very surprised if everyone is not talking about it this summer. * Elodie Harper, bestselling author of The Wolf Den * A brilliant and beguiling re-imagining of the Romeo and Juliet story. A terrific novel - very clever and alluring. * William Boyd * A thought-provoking reimagining of the classic tragedy, Fair Rosaline is, at its heart, a love story that champions the most elusive and rare of all loves: self-acceptance and self-love. This is a rich and atmospheric work that, despite its historical setting, feels intensely relatable thanks to Solomons' resilient heroine. * Katherine J. Chen, author of Joan * Dismantling the myths around Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Fair Rosaline is a revelatory feminist retelling. I got lost within its pages submerged within a Shakespearean sensory drama where the voices of young girls & their predicaments mirror real history with powerful resonance for our present. * Anya Bergman, international bestselling author of The Witches of Vardo * Natasha Solomons' masterfully weaves Shakespeare's classic play into a gripping story of female agency and strength. Rosaline is a compelling heroine and I was rooting for her from the first page, and as a Shakespeare-lover, I thoroughly enjoyed the new life Natasha breathes into Romeo and Juliet. * Isabelle Schuler, author of LADY MACBETHAD * A fabulous avenging heroine who inhabits a story that teems with vivid period detail and burns with feminist fury. You'll never look at Romeo the same way again. * The Bookseller - Editor's Pick * Intelligent, imaginative, irreverent. Solomons has created a gripping Romeo and Juliet for the 21st century. * Annabel Abbs * A brilliant, feminist re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, Fair Rosaline is a gorgeously written version of Verona from Juliet's cousin, Rosaline's, point of view. What does Romeo truly look like through the eyes of a woman on the periphery of the original story? Natasha Solomons skillfully shows us another version of the star-crossed lovers - and the Romeo --we all think we know. I absolutely devoured this thought-provoking, female-centric take on Shakespeare. * Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools * Exquisitely written, wonderfully lyrical and richly immersive - this a story we all know made fresh and chillingly relevant, refracted through a feminist lens. * Ellery Lloyd, author of PEOPLE LIKE HER * I was gripped by Rosaline's story . . . You may think you know this story. Think again. * Laura Shepperson, author of THE HEROINES * This sweeping untelling of Shakespeare's most famous love story is subversive and a lot of fun * The I newspaper *