Kate Forsyth Finishes 1st Draft of "Beauty In Thorns"

If you're a Kate Forsyth fan (Bitter Greens, The Wild Girl, The Beast's Garden) you probably know she's been neck-deep in writing her retelling of Sleeping Beauty, titled Beauty In Thorns, set in the "passions and scandals of the Pre-Raphaelite circle of artists and poets".

The great news is that just this week the book was finished! Well, the first draft was. We here at OUABlog heartily congratulate Kate Forsyth on what has been a very intensive research and writing journey.

Here's more information about Forsyth's retelling, from her website:

In 1890, the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones finished a monumental series of paintings inspired by ‘Sleeping Beauty’. Greeted with ecstasy by the public, it sold for a record 15,000 guineas and made the artist a rich and famous man.

Told by the voices of six extraordinary women – the wives and mistresses, sisters and daughters of the famous artists of the Pre-Raphaelite circle – BEAUTY IN THORNS tells the story of love, desire, obsession and tragedy that lies behind the creation of this famous depiction of Sleeping Beauty. 
Told by the voices of six extraordinary women – the wives and mistresses, sisters and daughters of the famous artists of the Pre-Raphaelite circle – BEAUTY IN THORNS tells the story of love, desire, obsession and tragedy that lies behind the creation of this famous depiction of Sleeping Beauty.  

The ‘Sleeping Beauty’ fairy tale haunted the imagination of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones, and he returned to the theme many times over the course of thirty years. 

Are you as intrigued as we are?

You can read more about it HERE.

The novel is expected to be published in August 2017.

The Legend of Briar Rose - The Sleeping Beauty (Mural 4 of 4) - Edward Burne-Jones