Fair Rosaline

Romeo and Juliet: we all know how that ended, but what about how it began, and the girl Romeo is desperate for before he ever meets Juliet? This historical-fiction novel set in fair Verona is a behind-the-scenes retelling of Rosaline Capulet's part in the classic tragedy. The author fills in the story of Juliet's older cousin, 16 and a dark beauty to Juliet's fair. Plague has just ravaged Verona, taking with it Rosaline's beloved mother. Left with a distant father, Rosaline is informed that her mother's dying wish was for her to enter a convent, conveniently saving her father from paying an expensive dowry. Crushed but seeing no way out of a cloistered existence, Rosaline is determined to live life to the fullest in the seven days she has left in the world. Mischief and forbidden love ensue as Rosaline and Romeo embark on an affair that is the prelude to the more famous story. This would be perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Julia Quinn who love a historical setting and classic characters mixed with drama and romance.

Solomons (I, Mona Lisa) gives voice to Rosaline Capulet, Juliet's cousin and Romeo's forgotten lover, in this feminist spin on Shakespeare's tragedy. Rosaline, only 15 when she loses her mother to pestilence, faces a future in a nunnery to escape the "ruinous expense of a dowry." As a final act of defiance, Rosaline decides to attend the Montagues' masque disguised as her brother Valentio, where she meets Romeo, who sees through her disguise and swears he is "disarmed" by her. Romeo's flattery is appealing to Rosaline, who feels like an outcast among the Capulets and has been told her "dark beauty" is not fashionable, and she's quickly swept into an intense but short-lived love affair, ending when Romeo meets Juliet. Rosaline's eyes are opened to Romeo's true nature, and she vows to save her cousin from a dark fate. Solomons challenges classic interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, painting Romeo as a predator who lures unwitting young girls and discards them, with the help of a friar, though the modern language and themes clumsily alternate with more Elizabethan language, and Rosaline's master plan seems to fall into place too conveniently. Still, this is entertaining and empowering. Agent: Susan Armstrong, C&W. (Sept.)