Karen E. Black

From the Chrysalis Karen E. Black

An unusual romance...Part love story, part prison break: a fictionalized account of the deadliest event in Canadian penal history, the Kingston Penitentiary Riot of April 1971. Recommended for those over 18. Some readers may be disturbed by the violence in the prison and the first cousin romance.For background information about the riot and a personal perspective, see "My Search for Gregory Bell aka Norman MacCaud." 25,000+ downloads! Paperback available also. Sequel coming 2014!Drugs, bikers and a prison riot provide surprising plot twists in this rough-and-tumble romance novel when a troubled college student and an ex-con try to undo the past. Karen Black's story "From the Chrysalis" is based on the most deadly prison uprising in Canadian history, the Kingston Penitentiary Riot of April 1971. "It's the twisted and winding tale of Liza and her dashing and dangerous older cousin Dace Devereux. Set in Canada, it is the tale of a relationship blighted by uncomprehending relatives, social conventions, a harrowing stint in Maitland Penitentiary (complete with riots and semi-totalitarian "people's committees"), the well-intentioned galumph Mel, and a conundrum Liza has to bear calling for an ever more inevitable decision. The prison scenes, with their occasionally stark violence but underlying ethical probity are especially fascinating, but there's also lots of romantic tension, a kind of yearning whose fulfillment seems always out of reach, even when its physical manifestation is realized." (Julian Fauth, 2009 Juno Award winner)Review Highlights:Drugs, bikers, prison breaks and (and what some people would call incest) provide surprising plot twists in this rough-and-tumble romance...set in the '60s and '70s... Black has a flair for historical novels..and she shows remarkable storytelling depth...  - Kirkus Reviews "...courtroom scenes are so well written, I thought I was reading a John Grisham novel but without half the tediousness of his long drawn out court battles. The sexual scenes are also beautifully done, a real part of the plot, not woven in to titillate the reader."  -Book lover "Elsee" (Malvern, UK)


"...this is an eloquently crafted tale about love, guilt, and human resilience."  -Ben Avery (Victoria, BC)"Both Liza and Dace are haunted by the decisions that they made in their youth- his a charge resulting in a jail term, and hers a relationship with an older man which results in a heartbreaking decision."  -Nadia (Toronto, Canada)

"I fell in love with the character of Dace (during the prison riot). His perseverance and resilience, whether making good or bad decisions, can't be matched."   -Francine1898

"The author is a woman but she really nailed it in portraying a desperate man, driven both by his violent circumstances and his desperate need for his girl, Liza. But as much as I liked him, it was Liza I really cared about..."  -Goalie (Trenton, ON)"I would have loved to have more about the two characters and their relationship....how they rationalized the fact that they were first cousins..."   -K. Kendall (California)


"...a meditation on obsessive love,free choice and fitful fate. "From the Chrysalis" asks us to consider how much of life is the result of choices we've made, and how much is determined by circumstances beyond our control."  -Joseph A. (Toronto, Canada)