Natasha Solomons

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Was the greatest love story of all time a lie? Romeo Montague is handsome and charming and the first time he sees young Rosaline Capulet, who has secretly snuck into his family's masquerade summer ball, he falls instantly in love. At first Rosaline is unsure of Romeo's attentions but with her father determined that she join the nunnery, Romeo offers her the chance of a different life. Gradually he convinces her that only true love could make him feel this way, that he is enraptured by her beauty. Indeed, he cannot live without her! And so begins the story of Romeo and Rosaline. These star-crossed lovers must keep everything hidden from Rosaline's family, at least until they are wed. But when a destitute young girl appears, claiming to be carrying Romeo's child, Rosaline starts to doubt all that she has been told. And as whispers of more girls reach her ears, what once felt like a courtship begins to feel more like a pursuit. As Rosaline recognises Romeo for the villain he truly is, his gaze turns suddenly towards Rosaline's adored and beautiful cousin, thirteen-year old Juliet. Can Rosaline save Juliet, who falls under Romeo's spell just as quickly as she did? Or can this story only ever end one way? The subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare's best know tale. A fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline's story.