Dr Kate Forsyth is an award-winning author, poet, and storyteller whose work spins together art, folklore, history and myth into spellbinding new tales. 

Her historical novels for adults include Psykhe, a reimagining of the ancient Greek myth from a feminist perspective; The Crimson Thread, a retelling of the myth of the minotaur set in Crete during World War II; The Wild Girl, the story of the forbidden romance behind the Grimm brothers’ famous fairy tales which was named Most Memorable Love Story; and Bitter Greens, a reimagining of ‘Rapunzel’ which won the American Library Award for Best Historical Fiction.

Her recent release is Psykhe is a book club pick for History Unbound.

Nicole Alexander and Kate Forsyth will both be available to answer your questions about their writing process, inspiration, research methods, and novels: The Limestone Road and Psykhe on Sunday 2 November at our Book Club.

Learn more about Psykhe below.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

Mary, Queen of Scots, so I could heat her versions of her brief and turbulent reign and long imprisonment afterwards - till only recently, all the history about her has been written by men.

It is not wise to anger the gods ... or to fall in love with one.

Fair as Venus, the goddess of love, and with the hard-won ability to save the lives of those of mortal blood, Psykhe 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.