As an author who writes about Ancient Rome and the Etruscans, I enjoyed delving into Forsyth's book which re-imagines the Roman myth of the love affair between Eros/Cupid, the god of love, and the mortal woman Pysche (Psykhe is the Greek spelling). Forsyth merges this myth with the legend of the evil Etruscan King Tarquin the Proud which is a great twist. Forsyth is renowned for reworking fairytales (she has a doctorate in them!) into history such as Bitter Greens (Rapunzel in Louis XIV's France), The Beast's Garden (Beauty and the Beast in WW2 Berlin) and Beauty in Thorns (Sleeping Beauty with the Pre-Raphaelites). This is the first time she has set her books in prehistory which enables her a good deal of leeway to weave the two Roman legends together. As always, the author's prose is lush and evocative, the characters are engaging, and the narrative enlaced with ingenuity.
Kate Forsyth gives voice, power and agency to Psykhe telling this much loved myth from the perspective of the woman at its centre.
It is not wise to anger the gods ... or to fall in love with one.
Psykhe has always been different. Fair as Venus, the goddess of love, and with the hard-won ability to save the lives of those of mortal blood, she is both shunned and revered.
When she unwittingly provokes Venus, she and her sisters lose everything. Psykhe must find a way to make amends and support her family.
Malcolm Knox has written a highy intelligent black comedy about Stalin's Soviet Union which simultaneously amused and horrified me . Set in 1938 amid the coterie of Laventry Beria, the psychopathic governor of the Georgian Republic, the narrative is written from the viewpoint of Beria's loyal driver, Murtov, who, despite being a childhood friend, realises he is on a doomed journey. The book exposes the paranoia, absurdities and murderous activities of a world where oppression is the fabric of life, and treachery is the only way to survive.
Longlisted for the 2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
'Crackling with energy, irony, wit and terror, The First Friend is a timely and cautionary reminder of the stifling, murderous logic of strong man politics.' Tim Winton
'Razor-sharp, wildly imaginative, bold, brilliant and often as dark as the inside of a coffin. Another triumph from a truly extraordinary writer.' Trent Dalton
'The First Friend is not just a cracking read, it's a masterclass in Machiavellian manoeuvres. This is a magnificent piece of gallows humour, bitingly funny and horrifyingly grim at the same time.'…
Natasha Lester passionately brings to life the true story of one of history's unsung Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the only woman to lead a resistance network in WWII France. Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was an extraordinary woman. Mother. Rally-car driver. Journalist. A woman who was at the top of the Gestapo's most wanted list and suffered physical hardship and psychological pain in fighting for her beloved France.
This is a story about the very best people, those who endangered their own lives and the lives of their loved ones and associates, and the Nazis who tortured, raped, looted and murdered.
I loved learning so much about a woman who is lost to the pages of history but who's story is studded with episodes that seem unbelievable and yet were true. The novel is important in also highlighting all the many Alliance agents who died for France.
How did a young Parisian mother, celebrated for her beauty and glamour, come to lead the largest spy network in occupied France?
“A passionate, fiery tribute to a historical woman so extraordinary she almost defies belief.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Briar Club
Morocco, 1928. Marie-Madeleine Méric is not the kind of woman who stays quietly at her husband's side. Polyglot, pianist, and pilot, she is a woman of many skills, with unconventional interests—like driving in car rallies—that earn her a daredevil reputation. But dabbling in intelligence work to assist her military officer…
Kate Forsyth gives voice, power and agency to Psykhe telling this much loved myth from the perspective of the woman at its centre. It is not wise to anger the gods ... or to fall in love with one. Psykhe has always been different. Fair as Venus, the goddess of love, and with the hard-won ability to save the lives of those of mortal blood, she is both shunned and revered. When she unwittingly provokes Venus, she and her sisters lose everything. Psykhe must find a way to make amends and support her family. Befriended by an old woman, Nokturna, Psykhe finds herself irresistibly drawn to her young friend, Ambrose. But neither is what they seem. For Psykhe has fallen in love with a man whose face she is forbidden to see. After disobeying this injunction, she must risk everything to try to save him, even if it means travelling down to the shadowy Underworld to face Proserpina, queen of the dead. The way to the realm of the dead is easy. A thrust of a sword, a sudden fall, a careless bite of toadstool, and the soul is sucked away. It is the return journey that is difficult .... The story of Psyche and Eros has been told for more than two-and-a-half thousand years. Kate Forsyth infuses it with new vigour as a life-affirming celebration of female strength, sexual desire, and empowerment.
