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Forsyth wrote "Full Fathom Five" as the thesis for her [[Master of Arts]] in Writing, and then, to relieve the tedium of studying theorists such as [[Jacques Lacan|Lacan]], [[Derrida]] and [[Ferdinand de Saussure|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 wrote "Full Fathom Five" as the thesis for her [[Master of Arts]] in Writing, and then, to relieve the tedium of studying theorists such as [[Jacques Lacan|Lacan]], [[Derrida]] and [[Ferdinand de Saussure|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Forsyth (Humphrey, 1984) - Abbotsleigh |url=https://www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au/old-girls/our-old-girls/old-girl-profile/kate-forsyth-humphrey-1984 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-07 |title=Kate Forsyth has a doctorate in fairytales |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/afternoons/fairy-tales/8882850 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=ABC Radio |language=en-AU}}</ref> Her novel ''Bitter Greens'' was written as the creative component of her doctorate,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Forsyth {{!}} HNSA |url=https://hnsa.org.au/kate-forsyth/ |access-date=2022-05-24 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-13 |title=Kate Forsyth. Giving Fairy Tales a Whole New Meaning. |url=https://strangealliances.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/kate-forsyth-giving-fairy-tales-a-whole-new-meaning/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=Strange Alliances |language=en}}</ref> and subsequenly she examined the many different retellings of [[Rapunzel]] in ''The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Mullins |first=Melissa |date=May 2017 |title=Reviewed Work: The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower by Kate Forsyth |journal=Marvels & Tales |publisher=Wayne State University Press |volume=31 |issue=1 : Transcultural and Intermedial Fairy Tales and Television |pages=188-190}}</ref>'' She presents workshops for writers, and is a frequently a public speaker, often in schools,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=4 August 2014 |title=Reviews |journal=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation. |volume=95 |issue=7 |pages=29}}</ref> but also in literary festivals,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=13 May 2002 |title=High profile writers for School Days festival |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238 |journal=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation |volume=83 |issue=5 |pages=19}}</ref> libraries and museums,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2006 |title=Appendix 6 : Conferences, forums, seminars and lectures conducted by the National Museum of Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-981009146 |journal=National Museum of Australia Annual Report 05-06 |publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service |publication-place=Canberra |pages=168 |issn=0818-7142}}</ref> on fantasy and folk tales.
Forsyth undertook a doctorate in fairy-tale retelling at the University of Technology, Sydney.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Forsyth (Humphrey, 1984) - Abbotsleigh |url=https://www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au/old-girls/our-old-girls/old-girl-profile/kate-forsyth-humphrey-1984 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-07 |title=Kate Forsyth has a doctorate in fairytales |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/afternoons/fairy-tales/8882850 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=ABC Radio |language=en-AU}}</ref> Her novel ''Bitter Greens'' was written as the creative component of her doctorate,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kate Forsyth {{!}} HNSA |url=https://hnsa.org.au/kate-forsyth/ |access-date=2022-05-24 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-13 |title=Kate Forsyth. Giving Fairy Tales a Whole New Meaning. |url=https://strangealliances.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/kate-forsyth-giving-fairy-tales-a-whole-new-meaning/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=Strange Alliances |language=en}}</ref> which one reviewer felt resulted in a story that was "two books',<ref name=":1" /> and subsequenly Forsyth examined the many different retellings of [[Rapunzel]] in ''The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Mullins |first=Melissa |date=May 2017 |title=Reviewed Work: The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower by Kate Forsyth |journal=Marvels & Tales |publisher=Wayne State University Press |volume=31 |issue=1 : Transcultural and Intermedial Fairy Tales and Television |pages=188-190}}</ref>''
Forsyth is active in presenting workshops for writers, and is a frequently a public speaker, often in schools,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=4 August 2014 |title=Reviews |journal=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation. |volume=95 |issue=7 |pages=29}}</ref> but also in literary festivals,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=13 May 2002 |title=High profile writers for School Days festival |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-682634238 |journal=Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation |volume=83 |issue=5 |pages=19}}</ref> libraries and museums,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2006 |title=Appendix 6 : Conferences, forums, seminars and lectures conducted by the National Museum of Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-981009146 |journal=National Museum of Australia Annual Report 05-06 |publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service |publication-place=Canberra |pages=168 |issn=0818-7142}}</ref> on fantasy, folk tales and the role of women in them.<ref name=":2" />


==Reception==
==Reception==
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 Barton|Charlotte Waring Atkinson]], she is writing for a global readership, and only one of her 40 books is set in Australia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fletcher |first=Lisa |last2=Driscoll |first2=Beth |last3=Wilkins |first3=Kim |date=2018 |title=What is Australian Popular Fiction? |journal=Australian Literary Studies |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=1-11}}</ref>
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 Barton|Charlotte Waring Atkinson]], she is writing for a global readership, and only one of her 40 books is set in Australia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fletcher |first=Lisa |last2=Driscoll |first2=Beth |last3=Wilkins |first3=Kim |date=2018 |title=What is Australian Popular Fiction? |journal=Australian Literary Studies |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=1-11}}</ref>


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,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=James |first=Edward |date=2012 |title=Tolkien, Lewis and the explosion of genre fantasy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/tolkien-lewis-and-the-explosion-of-genre-fantasy/oclc/939605860 |journal=Cambridge companion to fantasy literature. |language=English |pages=62–78 |oclc=939605860}}</ref> and Tierney includes Kate Forsyth amongst them, with [[Jennifer Rowe|Emily Rodda]], [[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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tierney |first=Caylee |date=2020 |title=An intricate web: Unweaving strands of convention in children's fantasy series by Australians. |journal=Australian Humanities Review |volume=66 |issue=1}}</ref>
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,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=James |first=Edward |date=2012 |title=Tolkien, Lewis and the explosion of genre fantasy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/tolkien-lewis-and-the-explosion-of-genre-fantasy/oclc/939605860 |journal=Cambridge companion to fantasy literature. |language=English |pages=62–78 |oclc=939605860}}</ref> and Tierney includes Kate Forsyth amongst them, with [[Jennifer Rowe|Emily Rodda]], [[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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Tierney |first=Caylee |date=2020 |title=An intricate web: Unweaving strands of convention in children's fantasy series by Australians. |journal=Australian Humanities Review |volume=66 |issue=1}}</ref>


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; <blockquote>"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."<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>
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; <blockquote>"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."<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>
Line 102: Line 104:


====Historical Fiction====
====Historical Fiction====
*''Bitter Greens'' (2012), a retelling of [[Rapunzel]] set in [[Renaissance]] [[Venice]] and fictionalised biography of [[Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=layeredpages |date=2014-10-02 |title=Interview with Author Kate Forsyth |url=https://layeredpages.com/2014/10/02/interview-with-author-kate-forsyth/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=Layered Pages |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Obeso |first=Dionne |date=January 2017 |title=Bitter Greens (review) |journal=Renaissance Magazine |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=72}}</ref>
*''Bitter Greens'' (2012), a retelling of [[Rapunzel]] set in [[Renaissance]] [[Venice]] and fictionalised biography of [[Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=layeredpages |date=2014-10-02 |title=Interview with Author Kate Forsyth |url=https://layeredpages.com/2014/10/02/interview-with-author-kate-forsyth/ |access-date=2022-05-25 |website=Layered Pages |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Obeso |first=Dionne |date=January 2017 |title=Bitter Greens (review) |journal=Renaissance Magazine |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=72}}</ref>
*''The Wild Girl'' (March 2013), a retelling of [[All-Kinds-of-Fur]] based on the life of [[Wilhelm Grimm]]'s wife Dortchen Wild
*''The Wild Girl'' (March 2013), a retelling of [[All-Kinds-of-Fur]] based on the life of [[Wilhelm Grimm]]'s wife Dortchen Wild
*''The Beast's Garden'' (August 2015), a retelling of [[The Singing, Springing Lark]] set in [[Nazi Germany]]
*''The Beast's Garden'' (August 2015), a retelling of [[The Singing, Springing Lark]] set in [[Nazi Germany]]

Revision as of 04:47, 25 May 2022

"The Tower of Ravens" redirects here. Not to be confused with The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie.

Kate Forsyth
Kate Forsyth in 2007.
Kate Forsyth in 2007.
BornKatherine[1] Emma[2] Humphrey
(1966-06-03) 3 June 1966 (age 58)
Sydney, Australia
OccupationWriter, Poet, Journalist
NationalityAustralian
GenreHistorical Fiction, Children's literature, Fantasy
SubjectKate Forsyth//Author
Website
www.kateforsyth.com.au

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 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.

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 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 winner.[3]

She is married with three children, and lives in Sydney, New South Wales. 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 author.[4]

Journalism

After graduating in a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Macquarie University, Forsyth worked as a full-time journalist, including Editor of Hair and deputy editor of Money Watch before quitting to work freelance, writing articles for Vogue Australia, Black+White, 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 Age, and The Bulletin, and domestic and international literary magazines.

Author

Forsyth wrote "Full Fathom Five" as the thesis for her Master of Arts in Writing, and then, to relieve the tedium of studying theorists such as Lacan, Derrida 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.[5][6] Her novel Bitter Greens was written as the creative component of her doctorate,[7][8] which one reviewer felt resulted in a story that was "two books',[9] and subsequenly Forsyth examined the many different retellings of Rapunzel in The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower.[10]

Forsyth is active in presenting workshops for writers, and is a frequently a public speaker, often in schools,[11] but also in literary festivals,[12] libraries and museums,[13] on fantasy, folk tales and the role of women in them.[14]

Reception

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.[15]

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,[16] and Tierney includes Kate Forsyth amongst them, with Emily Rodda, 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.[14]

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."[10]

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 books

  • Forsyth, Kate (2013). The puzzle ring. Chippendale: Pan Australia. ISBN 978-1-74198-485-9. OCLC 870444383.
  • Forsyth, Kate; Carrington, Lorena (2019). Vasilisa the wise: & other tales of brave young women. ISBN 978-1-61067-852-0. OCLC 1163936693.[17]
  • Forsyth, Kate; Brennan, Krista (2019). Once. ISBN 978-1-925563-56-6. OCLC 1077702393.
  • Forsyth, Kate; Carrington, Lorena (2019). The buried moon: & other tales of bright young women. ISBN 978-0-6484000-0-4. OCLC 1089610230.
  • Forsyth, Kate; Carrington, Lorena; Carmody, Isobelle (2020). Snow White Rose Red & other tales of kind young women. ISBN 978-0-6486984-2-5. OCLC 1182876734.
  • Forsyth, Kate; Carrington, Lorena (2021). The Gardener's Son and the Golden Bird: And other Tales of Gentle Young Men. Waikiki, WA: Serenity Press. ISBN 978-0-6450996-3-8. OCLC 1263749427.

Contemporary fiction

  • Full Fathom Five - as Kate Humphrey (2003), a retelling of The Little Mermaid set in modern-day Australia
  • Dancing on Knives (2014) revised version of Full Fathom Five - as Kate Forsyth

Historical Fiction

Other adults' books

  • The Silver Well (2017) - short stories collection with Kim Wilkins

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

  1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/172327916160306/photos/pb.100050197072052.-2207520000../2525840094142398/?type=3 [user-generated source]
  2. ^ Kate Forsyth & Belinda Murrell, Searching for Charlotte, NLA publishing, 2020, p 125, 157.
  3. ^ Morris, Linda (9 June 2012). "Frontier women".
  4. ^ Literary families: sisters and writers Belinda Murrell and Kate Forsyth
  5. ^ "Kate Forsyth (Humphrey, 1984) - Abbotsleigh". www.abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Kate Forsyth has a doctorate in fairytales". ABC Radio. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Kate Forsyth | HNSA". Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Kate Forsyth. Giving Fairy Tales a Whole New Meaning". Strange Alliances. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b Obeso, Dionne (January 2017). "Bitter Greens (review)". Renaissance Magazine. 21 (2): 72.
  10. ^ a b Mullins, Melissa (May 2017). "Reviewed Work: The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower by Kate Forsyth". Marvels & Tales. 31 (1 : Transcultural and Intermedial Fairy Tales and Television). Wayne State University Press: 188–190.
  11. ^ "Reviews". Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation. 95 (7): 29. 4 August 2014.
  12. ^ "High profile writers for School Days festival". Education : journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation. 83 (5): 19. 13 May 2002.
  13. ^ "Appendix 6 : Conferences, forums, seminars and lectures conducted by the National Museum of Australia". National Museum of Australia Annual Report 05-06. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service: 168. 2006. ISSN 0818-7142.
  14. ^ a b Tierney, Caylee (2020). "An intricate web: Unweaving strands of convention in children's fantasy series by Australians". Australian Humanities Review. 66 (1).
  15. ^ Fletcher, Lisa; Driscoll, Beth; Wilkins, Kim (2018). "What is Australian Popular Fiction?". Australian Literary Studies. 33 (4): 1–11.
  16. ^ James, Edward (2012). "Tolkien, Lewis and the explosion of genre fantasy". Cambridge companion to fantasy literature.: 62–78. OCLC 939605860.
  17. ^ Boyes, Melissa (30 March 2020). Folklore in Contemporary Australian Literature: Baba Yaga as guardian and mentor in antipodean narratives. (Doctoral thesis). Charles Sturt University.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  18. ^ layeredpages (2 October 2014). "Interview with Author Kate Forsyth". Layered Pages. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kate_Forsyth&oldid=1089694839"