Juliet by Anne Fortier

Author: Anne Fortier

Format: Paperback, 480 pages

Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 26, 2011)

Indonesian Publisher: Qanita (February 2012)

Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:

Juliet, an ambitious, utterly engaging historical novel on the scale of The Thirteenth Tale and The Birth of Venus, follows a young woman who discovers that her family’s origins reach all the way back to literature’s greatest star-crossed lovers.

When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a winding and perilous journey into the history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo rocked the foundations of medieval Siena. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse—“A plague on both your houses!”—is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems that the only one who can save Julie from her fate is Romeo—but where is he? (http://www.annefortier.com/juliet/)

Review:

JULIET is the first novel by a Danish American author, Anne Fortier. This is the most amazing Historical Fiction I have ever read.

Juliet is the New York Times bestselling novel about a young American woman who discovers that her family’s origins reach all the way back to literature’s greatest star-crossed lovers. The book has been published in over 30 countries, and a Hollywood film is on the way.

I'm going to share a real story about this book and I. Someday in February 2013, when I was really stuck with my undergraduate thesis, I found this novel in a book store in Makassar. That was the first book I really enjoyed to read. When my lecturer asked me to find a literary work to be analyzed, I thought this one would be perfect to be my thesis object (for I was an English department student). So, I google it and found Anne Fortier's official website and e-mail address. I sent her an e-mail in order to get some enlightenments (if you can call it so).

Here is my pathetic e-mail:

Your Name: LIES M. TANGALAYUK 
Your Email: liesmariani24@yahoo.co.id 

Subject: need helps 

Message: 

Dear Mrs. Fortier,
I'm from Indonesia and I'm going to write a thesis based on your 'Juliet'. For that, I really need your permission and support. My subject is to analyze the differences between Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and yours. What do you think about that? Would you like to give me some advises or recommendations?
I really appreciate if you reply my email as soon as possible.
Thank you before.
PS: Your novel has inspired me very much.

After about 2 weeks and there was no answer, I already gave up. But then, when I did not expect it anymore, Miss Fortier replied it as follows:

Dari: Anne Fortier<anne@annefortier.com>

Kepada: liesmariani24@yahoo.co.id

Dikirim: Sabtu, 23 Maret 2013 9:28

Judul: Re: Form Submission - HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ANNE

Dear Lies,
Thank you so much for your email. What an interesting project you have! I'd be happy to help you with some suggestions, although I have to warn you I'm extremely busy right now and won't have time to read anything. If you've read both Shakespeare's play and JULIET you're in good shape to write an interesting thesis I am sure. Some interesting points to compare could be Shakespeare's balcony scene versus the one in JULIET, plus perhaps a character study of Romeo/Alessandro, e.g. "In what ways has Alessandro lived his life in defiance of his famous ancestor, Romeo?" Or "How is Giulietta Tolomei different from Shakespeare's Juliet?"
I hope this gives you some ideas. Best of luck!
In the future, you can also catch me and my readers on Facebook:
https://facebook.com/AnneFortierBooks 

Kind regards 

Anne

Indonesian version (Qanita, February 2012)

I was really excited. I knew that she was very busy to prepare her second book's launching (The Lost Sisterhood), but still spent her previous time to read and reply my e-mail. I was so thankful but felt sorry at the same time because at last (unfortunately), I did not take Juliet as my thesis object and chose Jane Austen's Emma instead. This was because my lecturer told me that to compare Fortier's Juliet and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet would be too difficult and it should be analyzed by a post graduate student.
I wish someday when I take my master degree in English Literature, I could finally be the first one who analyze this amazing literary work.

Anne fortier (November 10, 1971)