Description
"Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early 19th century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the handsome but very poor fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. It is a time of tyranny and terror: Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, Wilhelm and his brothers quietly rebel by preserving old half-forgotten tales that had once been told by the firesides of houses grand and small over the land. As Dortchen tells Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in what will one day become his and Jacob's famous fairy tale collection, their love blossoms"--Amazon.com.
Genres
Collection
Publication
Thomas Dunne Books (2015), 496 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member ArmchairAuthor
Though Bitter Greens had three heroines suffering, The Wild Girl is three times more brutal to read.
Most people (of European descent) know of the folktale collection compiled by the Brothers Grimm, but few know about the women who told them the tales. One of these storytellers was Dortchen Wild.
One of the things I loved about Bitter Greens, apart from the fairy-tale and deeply-researched historical fiction aspects, was how complex the writing was. Three stories intertwined like the strands that form a braid, echoing each other and moving the narrative forward. The writing in The Wild Girl is no less rich but, because the scope of the novel is so much smaller, at times it feels as though there is not enough story to justify the novel’s nearly five-hundred pages. The A-plot is ostensibly the romance between Wilhelm and Dortchen, but it is often swamped by the brutal realities of Dortchen’s day-to-day life. Where the arcs of Bitter Greens‘ three heroines called back to each other, in The Wild Girl it is the stories told by Dortchen that call back to her own life. Many fairy-tale themes crop up in the two-decade-long tale of her romance with Wilhelm: sisters going to a ball while one stays home to do chores, magic rhymes, and the transformative power of a really awesome dress.
Some of the themes of The Wild Girl struck so close to home that I have to admit they tempered my enjoyment of the story. Dortchen’s experience as a civilian during a war that seems like it will never end, with her country first being invaded and then used to supply soldiers for the conquerors to invade other countries, hit a little too close to home for this American. While many would argue that America is the Napoléonic France of our situation, from a civilian standpoint my country was violently attacked when I was in high school and we’ve been at war with multiple countries ever since. I am married to a Marine who began his service right after 9/11, I have taught preschool and cared for infants on military bases, half of my friends enlisted straight after high school, and I have been groped in airports in the name of “safety” more times than I can bear to think about. My youngest brother currently has plans to enlist. In 2008 we were promised an end to this war and it hasn’t materialized yet, so I related to the climate of worry though my struggle has not yet grown so dire as Dortchen’s.
The other major plot of the novel is Dortchen’s relationship with her extremely strict father. As the war worsens and he becomes more stressed and worried, he devolves into outright abuse of his daughters. I will only say that the descriptions of this abuse are realistic to the point of triggering, if you have a past in any way similar. In her author’s note Forsyth mentions the plotting of these passages giving her nightmares. I do appreciate her commitment to leaning in when writing about the uglier aspects of life. I have always loved fairy tales because they are just as dark as life can be. Sometimes darker.
There is much to love about The Wild Girl, even if my personal experience prevented me from embracing it as fully as I did Bitter Greens. Germany (specifically Hesse-Kassel, here) is a beautiful, sweet country done justice by Forsyth’s realistic tale of romance between a dreamy writer and an apothecary’s daughter. It may be a bit long-winded, but it’s an easy trap to fall into for lovers of history and literature alike (and an author sticking to a historical timeline.) People who enjoy Austen or Little Women will like the early passages with Dortchen and her siblings, fairy-tale lovers will be rewarded throughout.
Most people (of European descent) know of the folktale collection compiled by the Brothers Grimm, but few know about the women who told them the tales. One of these storytellers was Dortchen Wild.
Show More
Second youngest of the Wild family, neighbors to the Grimms, Dortchen was an empathetic girl will a skill for herbalism and a long-running crush on Wilhelm Grimm. Against the backdrop of the Napoléonic Wars their collaboration and eventual romance unfolds, the darkness all around matched only by the darkness in Dortchen’s own home.One of the things I loved about Bitter Greens, apart from the fairy-tale and deeply-researched historical fiction aspects, was how complex the writing was. Three stories intertwined like the strands that form a braid, echoing each other and moving the narrative forward. The writing in The Wild Girl is no less rich but, because the scope of the novel is so much smaller, at times it feels as though there is not enough story to justify the novel’s nearly five-hundred pages. The A-plot is ostensibly the romance between Wilhelm and Dortchen, but it is often swamped by the brutal realities of Dortchen’s day-to-day life. Where the arcs of Bitter Greens‘ three heroines called back to each other, in The Wild Girl it is the stories told by Dortchen that call back to her own life. Many fairy-tale themes crop up in the two-decade-long tale of her romance with Wilhelm: sisters going to a ball while one stays home to do chores, magic rhymes, and the transformative power of a really awesome dress.
Some of the themes of The Wild Girl struck so close to home that I have to admit they tempered my enjoyment of the story. Dortchen’s experience as a civilian during a war that seems like it will never end, with her country first being invaded and then used to supply soldiers for the conquerors to invade other countries, hit a little too close to home for this American. While many would argue that America is the Napoléonic France of our situation, from a civilian standpoint my country was violently attacked when I was in high school and we’ve been at war with multiple countries ever since. I am married to a Marine who began his service right after 9/11, I have taught preschool and cared for infants on military bases, half of my friends enlisted straight after high school, and I have been groped in airports in the name of “safety” more times than I can bear to think about. My youngest brother currently has plans to enlist. In 2008 we were promised an end to this war and it hasn’t materialized yet, so I related to the climate of worry though my struggle has not yet grown so dire as Dortchen’s.
The other major plot of the novel is Dortchen’s relationship with her extremely strict father. As the war worsens and he becomes more stressed and worried, he devolves into outright abuse of his daughters. I will only say that the descriptions of this abuse are realistic to the point of triggering, if you have a past in any way similar. In her author’s note Forsyth mentions the plotting of these passages giving her nightmares. I do appreciate her commitment to leaning in when writing about the uglier aspects of life. I have always loved fairy tales because they are just as dark as life can be. Sometimes darker.
There is much to love about The Wild Girl, even if my personal experience prevented me from embracing it as fully as I did Bitter Greens. Germany (specifically Hesse-Kassel, here) is a beautiful, sweet country done justice by Forsyth’s realistic tale of romance between a dreamy writer and an apothecary’s daughter. It may be a bit long-winded, but it’s an easy trap to fall into for lovers of history and literature alike (and an author sticking to a historical timeline.) People who enjoy Austen or Little Women will like the early passages with Dortchen and her siblings, fairy-tale lovers will be rewarded throughout.
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LibraryThing member shelleyraec
The Wild Girl is a stunning tale of passion, love and war where history and imagination intertwine to create a wonderfully rich portrait of a woman whose contribution to the legend of the Grimm Brothers is finally acknowledged.
Dortchen Wild lives in the small kingdom of Hessen-Cassel in Germany in
Kate Forsyth uses historical record as the anchor for a story that she then develops with informed imagination. The Napoleonic War and it’s social effects grounds the tale in time and place while her fictional narrative winds in and out of what is known about the Grimm brothers, the origins of their fairytale collection and Dortchen. I don’t doubt that Forsyth’s research, using primary sources such Williem’s diaries amongst others, is impeccable but I most admire how she creates a plausible, seamless narrative melding fact with fiction. The author’s intuitive grasp of behaviour and motive ensures her characters, their environment and their lives feel authentic.
In the tradition of the original Grimm’s fairytales, Dortchen’s childhood is beset by darkness. Her mother was a weak woman addicted to Laudanum and subservient to her husband. Dortchen’s father, pious and strict during her childhood, devolved into a drunken, abusive tyrant in her adolescence, illustrated in several harrowing scenes. The war and resulting economic deprivations is hard on the family and though three of the sisters are eventually able to escape, Dortchen is forced to remain at home and care for her ailing parents. It is saddening to see Dortchen withdraw into herself in self defense, her spirit eroded by her fading hopes for escape from her father. The spark is only revived when she steals a moment or two with Williem. Her relationship with him is fraught with angst, drama and passion, their love is challenged repeatedly and a happy ending is never guaranteed.
The fairytale’s appear in the narrative not just as stories passed between the characters but also with some relationships to the plot. Dortchen often hopes that Williem will recognise her pain in the tales that she tells, though his scholarly focus seems to make him somewhat oblivious to the subtleties. They also reflect the political and social instability of times with tales of greedy kings and an abandoned, unfed children, despite their origin being from other times and places. The fairytales themselves are both versions of familiar stories like Cinderella and Snow White as well as less well known tales like that of a singing bone that identifies a murderer.
Really I could go on, The Wild Child is remarkable. A tale of triumph over adversity, an epic historical romance, a fascinating glimpse into the history of storytelling – it is all those things and more. One of my favourite reads for the year, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Dortchen Wild lives in the small kingdom of Hessen-Cassel in Germany in
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the early 1800′s, as Napoleon Bonaparte marches across Europe. One of five daughters of an apothecary, her only relief from her father’s tyranny comes from the rare occasions she can escape his attention and her friendship with her next door neighbour, Lotte Grimm. As the war intensifies, Lotte’s older brothers Jakob and Williem return home. With a single glance, twelve year old Dortchen falls in the love with the scholarly Williem but he barely notices her and she can only worship him from afar. As war rages and Cassel is plunged into economic ruin, the Grimm brothers hope to reverse their fortunes by publishing a book of collected fairytales. It’s not until Dortchen shyly offers to contribute that Williem realises Dortchen has grown up, but her father forbids any courtship between the desperately poor neighbour boy and his daughter. While the lovers endure years of enforced separation due to abuse, war and poverty Dortchen never stops hoping for her own happily ever after.Kate Forsyth uses historical record as the anchor for a story that she then develops with informed imagination. The Napoleonic War and it’s social effects grounds the tale in time and place while her fictional narrative winds in and out of what is known about the Grimm brothers, the origins of their fairytale collection and Dortchen. I don’t doubt that Forsyth’s research, using primary sources such Williem’s diaries amongst others, is impeccable but I most admire how she creates a plausible, seamless narrative melding fact with fiction. The author’s intuitive grasp of behaviour and motive ensures her characters, their environment and their lives feel authentic.
In the tradition of the original Grimm’s fairytales, Dortchen’s childhood is beset by darkness. Her mother was a weak woman addicted to Laudanum and subservient to her husband. Dortchen’s father, pious and strict during her childhood, devolved into a drunken, abusive tyrant in her adolescence, illustrated in several harrowing scenes. The war and resulting economic deprivations is hard on the family and though three of the sisters are eventually able to escape, Dortchen is forced to remain at home and care for her ailing parents. It is saddening to see Dortchen withdraw into herself in self defense, her spirit eroded by her fading hopes for escape from her father. The spark is only revived when she steals a moment or two with Williem. Her relationship with him is fraught with angst, drama and passion, their love is challenged repeatedly and a happy ending is never guaranteed.
The fairytale’s appear in the narrative not just as stories passed between the characters but also with some relationships to the plot. Dortchen often hopes that Williem will recognise her pain in the tales that she tells, though his scholarly focus seems to make him somewhat oblivious to the subtleties. They also reflect the political and social instability of times with tales of greedy kings and an abandoned, unfed children, despite their origin being from other times and places. The fairytales themselves are both versions of familiar stories like Cinderella and Snow White as well as less well known tales like that of a singing bone that identifies a murderer.
Really I could go on, The Wild Child is remarkable. A tale of triumph over adversity, an epic historical romance, a fascinating glimpse into the history of storytelling – it is all those things and more. One of my favourite reads for the year, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
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LibraryThing member Yarrow
I'd previously enjoyed 'Bitter Greens' by the same author so I was excited to pick up this new book, but in the end, I found it all a bit...well grim (sorry). Mild spoilers follow.
'The Wild Girl' tells the story of Dortchen Wild, who grows up and falls in love with Wilhelm Grimm who lives next
A few things stopped me from enjoying this book. Firstly, the characters are very one-dimensional, the best example of this is Dortchen's five sisters. On the back of the book it says 'The pretty one, the musical one, the clever one, the helpful one, the young one... And then there was the Wild one'. This is taken to extremes in the book, as whenever something helpful needs doing, the helpful one does it, and whenever there's a ball to dress up for, the pretty one does it, and so on. Apart from Dortchen, nobody did anything beyond the confines of their stereotype, and so nobody came alive in this book.
Secondly, the book is set at the time of rapid Napoleonic expansion. We know this because every five pages or so, one character will turn to another and say "What's happening with Napoleon now?", "Well, he's just won a battle at such-and-such". Events from the history of the period happen around the characters, but even the really awful things that happen to Dortchen's brother Rudolf don't seem to have any lasting effect.
Thirdly, this book should come with a trigger warning for the graphic abuse suffered by Dortchen at the hands of her father. The author explains in the afterword that this explains Dortchen's story 'All-kinds-of-fur', but it did take up most of the middle third of the book and made for rather grim reading. See Robin McKinley's 'Deerskin' (a retelling of 'All-kinds-of-fur') for a much better handling of a similar subject.
Fourthly, one of the difficulties inherent in weaving a fictional story around real-life events is that real-life often isn't plotted very tightly, and this book suffers from some long lags in the middle while we're just waiting for Dortchen to do things. There's a whole great stretch of it where all she does is sneak out, kiss Wilhelm, get caught by her father, get beaten, get locked in the house, repeat.
All in all this book was ok, but not as good as 'Bitter Greens', which I'd recommend instead.
'The Wild Girl' tells the story of Dortchen Wild, who grows up and falls in love with Wilhelm Grimm who lives next
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door. She tells him many of the stories for his collection of folk tales (which he writes with his brother, Jakob). However, Dortchen has to come to terms with what we would consider the post-traumatic stress disorder she suffers after abuse from her father. A few things stopped me from enjoying this book. Firstly, the characters are very one-dimensional, the best example of this is Dortchen's five sisters. On the back of the book it says 'The pretty one, the musical one, the clever one, the helpful one, the young one... And then there was the Wild one'. This is taken to extremes in the book, as whenever something helpful needs doing, the helpful one does it, and whenever there's a ball to dress up for, the pretty one does it, and so on. Apart from Dortchen, nobody did anything beyond the confines of their stereotype, and so nobody came alive in this book.
Secondly, the book is set at the time of rapid Napoleonic expansion. We know this because every five pages or so, one character will turn to another and say "What's happening with Napoleon now?", "Well, he's just won a battle at such-and-such". Events from the history of the period happen around the characters, but even the really awful things that happen to Dortchen's brother Rudolf don't seem to have any lasting effect.
Thirdly, this book should come with a trigger warning for the graphic abuse suffered by Dortchen at the hands of her father. The author explains in the afterword that this explains Dortchen's story 'All-kinds-of-fur', but it did take up most of the middle third of the book and made for rather grim reading. See Robin McKinley's 'Deerskin' (a retelling of 'All-kinds-of-fur') for a much better handling of a similar subject.
Fourthly, one of the difficulties inherent in weaving a fictional story around real-life events is that real-life often isn't plotted very tightly, and this book suffers from some long lags in the middle while we're just waiting for Dortchen to do things. There's a whole great stretch of it where all she does is sneak out, kiss Wilhelm, get caught by her father, get beaten, get locked in the house, repeat.
All in all this book was ok, but not as good as 'Bitter Greens', which I'd recommend instead.
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LibraryThing member DarkFaerieTales
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: Dark and tortured look into the life of the girl who would one day marry Wilhelm Grimm. This is a historical fiction that will have you contemplating the nature of life in the early 1800s.
Opening Sentence: ‘Wild by name and wild by nature,’
The Review:
The Wild Girl is a historical fiction novel based loosely on Dortchen Wild. She is the girl who falls in love with Wilhelm Grimm during the extremely harsh times of the Napoleonic Wars. At first I thought this novel could have been a YA but then Dortchen began to grow up and the really dark and terrible things began happening to her. Halfway through The Wild Girl it becomes a dark and unsettling read. The Wild Girl, at its heart is a love story about a young girl and all the trials and tribulations that she had to go through in order to finally marry him.
Dortchen is a young girl when she first meets Wilhelm Grimm, the older brother of her best friend Lotte. She immediately falls in love with the young man, 7 years her senior. She spends as much time as she can trying to be around the scholarly Wilhelm while still doing her chores/housework. The Grimm’s live next door so it isn’t too hard to hear/see him on a daily basis. As it is the early 1800’s, her father still goes by the rule that the father is the owner of the children. He negotiates their marriages and freedoms. Dortchen has five sisters that she shares the household chores and duties with before they all start slowly leaving the house for marriage.
Napoleon has made life really hard for the Wild and Grimm families. Dortchen’s father is a pharmacist so his products get stolen by the armies and even replenishing his stock is hard because ingredients are scarce. The Grimm’s have a hard time finding jobs so their free time is filled with searching for stories for their fairytale book that they want to publish. They believe a lot of the stories are being lost because of wars that they want to write them down for future generations to learn. Dortchen and her family supplies quite a few of the stories in the collection. She loves to tell tales because it’s the only time she can properly spend time with Wilhelm.
Dortchen is a fun and free-spirited little girl at the beginning of the novel but as time progresses and her father’s oppression/beatings turn her into a meek and sorrowful teen/woman. I know a lot of what she had to deal with was common in that time. I was infuriated at the things that Dortchen had to go through and I was even more infuriated at the fact that she didn’t believe that she could have her own happily ever after.
The Wild Girl is told entirely through Dortchen’s third person point of view and spans about twenty years of her life. Even though this was a really dark story, I enjoyed the writing style and how many things in history were actually included. After I picked up this novel, I immediately went to the web to see if Dortchen and Wilhelm marry. When I saw how late in life she married him, I wanted to know what took so long, especially for something like that in the 1800s. That was a huge driving factor for me, especially when I got to the really dark parts of the story.
I used to read a lot of historical fiction when I was younger, so this novel really took me back to those tastes. The author’s notes were what in the end made me really enjoy this novel in the long run. Her reasoning for certain things happening to Dortchen were substantiated in her research. Even though The Wild Girl is a fictional story, it could very well be the real story of Dortchen Wild. The Wild Girl definitely left its mark on me, as I have been unable to get over portions of the story and hoping that Dortchen did finally get the happily ever after she needed.
Notable Scene:
‘Where are our names?’ she cried. ‘Why aren’t we named in the book? We told you the tales. Our names should be there too!’
He was taken aback. ‘Jakob thought it best,’ he stammered. ‘The tales belong to no one. They are a genuine expression of the spirit of the folk –‘
‘Rubbish,’ Dortchen said.
He took a step away. ‘But, Dortchen—‘
She pointed to her mouth. ‘I told you these tales. I told them. Does that mean nothing?’
‘The tales came from many place, many people . . . We thought it best—‘
‘You! You thought nothing. You think nothing that Jakob does not think.’ Dortchen slammed the book shut, then flung it open again. ‘Look! All these pages of scholarly notes.’
She began to read out loud: ‘In Mullenhoff, No. 8, the manikin is called Rumpentrumper. In Kletke’s Marchensaal, No. 3, he is Hopfenhutel. In Zingerle, No. 36, and Kugerl, p. 278, Purzinigele.’ She looked at him scathingly. ‘You can list a whole lot of other names for Rumpelstiltskin, yet can’t find the room to add one line that says “told by Dortchen Wild”. For words – that’s all it would take, Yet in this book, in all these thousands of words, you couldn’t fit in another four.’
‘Dortchen, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise it mattered.’
‘You’re a fool, she screamed. ‘A weak, spineless fool, in thrall to your brother.’ Vaguely, she was aware of Lotte and Jakob in the hallway, staring at her with shocked eyes. She did not care. She flung the book in Wilhelm’s face and turned and fled.
He did not follow after her.
FTC Advisory: Thomas Dunne Books/Macmillan provided me with a copy of The Wild Girl. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: Dark and tortured look into the life of the girl who would one day marry Wilhelm Grimm. This is a historical fiction that will have you contemplating the nature of life in the early 1800s.
Opening Sentence: ‘Wild by name and wild by nature,’
Show More
Dortchen’s father used to say of her.The Review:
The Wild Girl is a historical fiction novel based loosely on Dortchen Wild. She is the girl who falls in love with Wilhelm Grimm during the extremely harsh times of the Napoleonic Wars. At first I thought this novel could have been a YA but then Dortchen began to grow up and the really dark and terrible things began happening to her. Halfway through The Wild Girl it becomes a dark and unsettling read. The Wild Girl, at its heart is a love story about a young girl and all the trials and tribulations that she had to go through in order to finally marry him.
Dortchen is a young girl when she first meets Wilhelm Grimm, the older brother of her best friend Lotte. She immediately falls in love with the young man, 7 years her senior. She spends as much time as she can trying to be around the scholarly Wilhelm while still doing her chores/housework. The Grimm’s live next door so it isn’t too hard to hear/see him on a daily basis. As it is the early 1800’s, her father still goes by the rule that the father is the owner of the children. He negotiates their marriages and freedoms. Dortchen has five sisters that she shares the household chores and duties with before they all start slowly leaving the house for marriage.
Napoleon has made life really hard for the Wild and Grimm families. Dortchen’s father is a pharmacist so his products get stolen by the armies and even replenishing his stock is hard because ingredients are scarce. The Grimm’s have a hard time finding jobs so their free time is filled with searching for stories for their fairytale book that they want to publish. They believe a lot of the stories are being lost because of wars that they want to write them down for future generations to learn. Dortchen and her family supplies quite a few of the stories in the collection. She loves to tell tales because it’s the only time she can properly spend time with Wilhelm.
Dortchen is a fun and free-spirited little girl at the beginning of the novel but as time progresses and her father’s oppression/beatings turn her into a meek and sorrowful teen/woman. I know a lot of what she had to deal with was common in that time. I was infuriated at the things that Dortchen had to go through and I was even more infuriated at the fact that she didn’t believe that she could have her own happily ever after.
The Wild Girl is told entirely through Dortchen’s third person point of view and spans about twenty years of her life. Even though this was a really dark story, I enjoyed the writing style and how many things in history were actually included. After I picked up this novel, I immediately went to the web to see if Dortchen and Wilhelm marry. When I saw how late in life she married him, I wanted to know what took so long, especially for something like that in the 1800s. That was a huge driving factor for me, especially when I got to the really dark parts of the story.
I used to read a lot of historical fiction when I was younger, so this novel really took me back to those tastes. The author’s notes were what in the end made me really enjoy this novel in the long run. Her reasoning for certain things happening to Dortchen were substantiated in her research. Even though The Wild Girl is a fictional story, it could very well be the real story of Dortchen Wild. The Wild Girl definitely left its mark on me, as I have been unable to get over portions of the story and hoping that Dortchen did finally get the happily ever after she needed.
Notable Scene:
‘Where are our names?’ she cried. ‘Why aren’t we named in the book? We told you the tales. Our names should be there too!’
He was taken aback. ‘Jakob thought it best,’ he stammered. ‘The tales belong to no one. They are a genuine expression of the spirit of the folk –‘
‘Rubbish,’ Dortchen said.
He took a step away. ‘But, Dortchen—‘
She pointed to her mouth. ‘I told you these tales. I told them. Does that mean nothing?’
‘The tales came from many place, many people . . . We thought it best—‘
‘You! You thought nothing. You think nothing that Jakob does not think.’ Dortchen slammed the book shut, then flung it open again. ‘Look! All these pages of scholarly notes.’
She began to read out loud: ‘In Mullenhoff, No. 8, the manikin is called Rumpentrumper. In Kletke’s Marchensaal, No. 3, he is Hopfenhutel. In Zingerle, No. 36, and Kugerl, p. 278, Purzinigele.’ She looked at him scathingly. ‘You can list a whole lot of other names for Rumpelstiltskin, yet can’t find the room to add one line that says “told by Dortchen Wild”. For words – that’s all it would take, Yet in this book, in all these thousands of words, you couldn’t fit in another four.’
‘Dortchen, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise it mattered.’
‘You’re a fool, she screamed. ‘A weak, spineless fool, in thrall to your brother.’ Vaguely, she was aware of Lotte and Jakob in the hallway, staring at her with shocked eyes. She did not care. She flung the book in Wilhelm’s face and turned and fled.
He did not follow after her.
FTC Advisory: Thomas Dunne Books/Macmillan provided me with a copy of The Wild Girl. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
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LibraryThing member martitia
Kate Forsyth follows Bitter Greens an enchanting novel blending fairy tale and historical fiction with The Wild Girl. This new work is about the life of Dortchen Wild who told stories to Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm for their collection of fairly tales. After years of living next door to the Grimm
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family and caring for her family, Dortchen eventually marries Wilhelm. The detailed setting fixes the Wild and Grimm families firmly in the early 19th Century world of Hessen-Cassel a small German kingdom threatened by Napoleon's army. Forsyth's imaginatively creates a life story for Dortchen that is grounded in the domestic details of women's lives and the darkness at the heart of every fairy tale. The epigraph reads, " Every fairy tale had a bloody lining. Every one had teeth and claws.--Alice Hoffman." Show Less
LibraryThing member MickyFine
Dortchen Wild fell in love with Wilhelm Grimm at first sight when she was twelve. Living next door to the Grimms for many years, she finds occasional respite from her harsh home life in the warmth provided by her best friend Lotte Grimm and the Grimm family. As Wilhelm and Jakob begin to collect
Kate Forsyth has created a beautiful historical novel with a fascinating and sympathetic central character. Building on the actual facts of Dortchen Wild and Wilhelm Grimm's lives, Forsyth weaves a tale that encompasses both the familiar stories that the Grimm Brothers compiled, the realities of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, and the more familiar realities of growing up that never alter, no matter the era. While there are moments of darkness, as is fitting of any Grimm tale, the novel is ultimately a reminder about the power of stories to alter our lives.
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old German folk tales with the hopes of publishing, Dortchen happily contributes as it gives her precious time with Wilhelm. But as the Napoleonic war descend on their community, Dortchen faces cruelties that threaten to forever alter her relationship with Wilhelm.Kate Forsyth has created a beautiful historical novel with a fascinating and sympathetic central character. Building on the actual facts of Dortchen Wild and Wilhelm Grimm's lives, Forsyth weaves a tale that encompasses both the familiar stories that the Grimm Brothers compiled, the realities of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, and the more familiar realities of growing up that never alter, no matter the era. While there are moments of darkness, as is fitting of any Grimm tale, the novel is ultimately a reminder about the power of stories to alter our lives.
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LibraryThing member Alphawoman
This book could use a heavy hand of editing. For example, she dropped the apples they embrace they kiss they grope they pick up the apples. Could have done without the mothers demise. Characters came and went returned and some died some lived.
Startling knowledge how women basically had no rights
Startling knowledge how women basically had no rights
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during the early 19th century . Is this why George Sand dressed like a man? I think do. Need to read some Jane Austin. Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
The title of the book refers to the last name of it's heroine. This is the story of a young lady who was the next door neighbor of the Brother's Grimm of fairy tale fame and if the author's research is correct orally feeds him over a quarter of the stories in their books. The novel's backdrop is
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Bonaparte's Wars which deeply affect the village where they live. There is an off and on love relationship between Dortchen (heroine) and Wilhelm Grimm. I think the novel could have used some editing back from it's lofty 480 pages. You seemingly read similar passages over and over again. Show Less
LibraryThing member pennsylady
The Wild Girl is an interesting, sometimes explosive tale of early 19th century German life.
It was a time of tyranny and terror.
Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall.
The historical backdrop was poverty stricken tragedy.
Admidst
Story behind the story (quoted from Kate Forsyth)
"I first stumbled upon the beautiful love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild when I was doing the research for my novel ‘Bitter Greens.’
I knew at once I had to turn it into a book.
The story had everything I love in a novel – romance, drama, heartbreak, and – most importantly, perhaps, for me – the redemptive power of storytelling.
It was possibly the most difficult and challenging book I have ever written, primarily because the Grimm brothers are so revered and so much has been written about them – the research took me forever!
Dortchen, however, was a mystery.
I had only a few letters written by her, and not much written about her, and so I had to imagine what her life must have been like, with the help of letters and diaries of other women of her time.
I spent so much time imagining myself into her skin she began to haunt my dreams – and not all of her life was beautiful."
In the end, I felt as if writing this book was a way to help Dortchen exorcise her demons … and allow me to dream sweetly again."
It was a time of tyranny and terror.
Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall.
The historical backdrop was poverty stricken tragedy.
Admidst
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the mayhem, the Grimm brothers hope to reverse their fortunes by publishing a book of collected fairytales.Story behind the story (quoted from Kate Forsyth)
"I first stumbled upon the beautiful love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild when I was doing the research for my novel ‘Bitter Greens.’
I knew at once I had to turn it into a book.
The story had everything I love in a novel – romance, drama, heartbreak, and – most importantly, perhaps, for me – the redemptive power of storytelling.
It was possibly the most difficult and challenging book I have ever written, primarily because the Grimm brothers are so revered and so much has been written about them – the research took me forever!
Dortchen, however, was a mystery.
I had only a few letters written by her, and not much written about her, and so I had to imagine what her life must have been like, with the help of letters and diaries of other women of her time.
I spent so much time imagining myself into her skin she began to haunt my dreams – and not all of her life was beautiful."
In the end, I felt as if writing this book was a way to help Dortchen exorcise her demons … and allow me to dream sweetly again."
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LibraryThing member Silverlily26
Well I expected a fairy tale, but got a very different tale from this book. The story is about a young girl, who lives next door to the Grimm family. The story is set during the Napoleon wars and is at time shows the very dark side of human nature. Once I got into the story, I found myself wanting
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to find out what happens to the characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
So well written.
Original publication date
2013-03-18