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"In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all." - Booklist A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family's favored circle. Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici's glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosop...
"A lovely book, engrossing and realistic . . . We are in the hands of a not only a master storyteller but also a dedicated music lover." ―Roberta Rich, international bestselling author of The Midwife of Venice Like most eighteenth-century Venetians, Adriana d'Amato adores music—except her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. But she refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family's palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, what begins as secret lessons swiftly evolves into a passionate, consuming love affair. Adriana's father is ...
BUSTLE BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK PICK NAMED A BOOKSHOP.ORG RECOMMENDED READING OF THE SEASON In this charming, deeply atmospheric novel set against the Amalfi Coast of the 1950s, two women form an intense and lasting friendship that embodies the paradoxes of Italian society. Inspired by her own adventurous, unconventional life, actress and writer Goliarda Sapienza’s recently rediscovered novel takes the reader to the sun-drenched town of Positano in southern Italy. There, while working on a film, Goliarda encounters the captivating Erica, a beautiful widow called “Princess” by the locals, who has been the object of much speculation. As the two women grow closer in spite of their different ...
Experience the "epic tale of one woman's fight . . . to create the life of her dreams" in this sweeping novel of Anita Garibaldi, a 19th century Brazilian revolutionary who loved as fiercely as she fought for freedom (Adriana Trigiani). Destiny toys with us all, but Anita Garibaldi is a force to be reckoned with. Forced into marriage at a young age, Anita feels trapped in a union she does not want. But when she meets the leader of the Brazilian resistance, Giuseppe Garibaldi, in 1839, everything changes. Swept into a passionate affair with the idolized mercenary, Anita's life is suddenly consumed by the plight to liberate Southern Brazil from Portugal—a struggle that would cost thousands of lives and span almost ten bloody years. Little did she know that this first taste of revolution would lead her to cross oceans, traverse continents, and alter the course of her entire life—and the world. At once an exhilarating adventure and an unforgettable love story, The Woman in Red is a sweeping, illuminating tale of the feminist icon who became one of the most revered historical figures of South America and Italy. Includes a Reading Group Guide.
A Renaissance courtesan must choose between love and duty in this high stakes 16th-century mystery, perfect for fans of Madeline Hunter and Rhys Bowen. Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice’s famous courtesans, she’s perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn’t matter—only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question. Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there is nothing she won’t do to protect her city, for there is nothin...
A dramatic and beautiful novel about composer and priest Antonio Vivaldi's two great loves - his mistress and his music."This panoramic novel of composer Antonio Vivaldi's life sweeps readers into a world of beautiful melodies and forbidden passion...One can almost hear the sweet notes while reading of the passionate and tragic star-crossed lovers" - Romantic TimesFollowing her mother's death, the one source of joy for Adriana d'Amato is her music. Now eighteen, she refuses to let her strict father stop her from pursuing her dreams and begins to take secret violin lessons from virtuoso Antonio Vivaldi. Their relationship soon evolves into a passionate, and forbidden, love affair - for Adriana's father is intent on her marrying a member of the patrician class and Vivaldi is a man of the Church.Their affair must end upon Adriana's marriage, but when Vivaldi is forced to choose between his lover and his music, the repercussions will haunt their lives in ways they never imagined.Spanning more than thirty years, The Violinist of Venice is a story of music and ambition, but most of all, passion.
Just because the art is beautiful doesn't mean the artist was a saint . . . Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists examines the lives of nine great artists who were less than exemplary human beings in their lives outside of their art. It explores the question, “Why do we like magnificent art from artists who were awful human beings?” For example, the great Baroque painter, Caravaggio, who developed the chiaroscuro style of painting, was in constant trouble with the law, even having killed a man in a duel. Frederick Remington, the great painter of the American West, was an incredible racist and bigot. His evocative paintings of Native Americans on the trail on horseback give no hint of...
From the author of The Violinist of Venice"In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence" Booklist"Strikingly feminist ... a compelling narrative that is difficult to put down." Publishers WeeklyIn 15th Century Italy, a girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals. When Marco Vespucci - a handsome young man, highly favoured by the Medici in Florence - asks for her hand, she eagerly accepts.Even before her wedding is set, Simonetta is swept into a glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists and philosophers. The men of F...
"Everything you want in a book—it's a romance, a page-turner, and a ride deep into the sumptuous and tumultuous time of Renaissance Italy." —Crystal King, author of In the Garden of Monsters During the sweltering Roman summer of 1492, Rodrigo Borgia has risen to power as pope. Rodrigo's eldest son Cesare, forced to follow his father into the church and newly made the Archbishop of Valencia, chafes at his ecclesiastical role and fumes with jealousy and resentment at the way that his foolish brother has been chosen for the military greatness he desired. Maddalena Moretti comes from the countryside, where she has seen how the whims of powerful men wreak havoc on the lives of ordinary people...
A passionate romance leads to supernatural mystery in this historical thriller based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. When Sleepy Hollow's new schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, arrives in the spooky little village, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina—unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina's father favors. But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina sneak into the woods after dark to be together—all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow's legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows's Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position. Enlisting the help of her friend—and rumored witch—Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane's disappearance. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all.