Set in Florence, this novel pens the voice of Alessandra Cecchi, daughter of a prosperous merchant. I can't tell you how it turns out because I'm just beginning the third chapter. I will admit that the prologue put me off, gving away the end, but the prose of Chapter 1 has lured me into the book.
The leading character is too large and headstrong to be a fashionable young lady, yet she doesn't at all sound like a 21st century chick plopped into the Renaissance. Here's some dialog with her mother to explain her unconventional scholarly inclinations.
"Well," I said moodily, "it seems to me that if you did not want me this way, you should not have allowed it."
"And what would we have done otherwise?" she said gently. "Kept you from books, taken away your pense? Chastised it out of you? You were too loved too early, child. Anyway, you were always so stubborn. In the end it seemed easier to keep you occupied by sending you to your brothers' tutors."
I'm sure to be crestfallen soon, because this work contains too much authenticity for my favorite happily-ever-after endings. However, it's too compelling to put down. After all, I tackled The Agony and the Ecstacy when all my friends were reading Mad Magazine or Seventeen. Or Love Story, for crying out loud.
Among writers who feature art and artists, I've really enjoyed Loretta Chase. She frequently depicts women artists, such as Bathsheba Wingate (Lord Perfect--a riot of a book) and Leila Beaumont of Captives of the Night. Then there's all of Madeline Hunter's novels, which use art and fashion (Hunter teaches art at a university) to set the theme, tone, and historical background.
So I will vary my literary diet and consume Birth of Venus, hoping the heroine doesn't suffer excessively on her way to life and love. I'm betting from the clues on the flyleaf that it gets harrowing and stays that way.
________________
After finishing the novel: If you enjoy beautiful historical reading, you'll love this book although it's fiction. It was not an easy read. It had some very Catholic overtones, I think, and interpretations of life based on that time in history when Savonarola warred against the glory of Renaissance art and a corrupt priesthood. A knowledgable Catholic would be able to better interpret the author's message here. It's a bit odd that the protagonist becomes a nun and contemplates suicide.
The author sympathizes with all the facets of society, I believe, capturing the madness of the times. Excess piety is juxtaposed against moral laxness and all are consumed with Savanarola's lust for power.
I usually prefer my mental diet lighter and fluffier these days. I'm sure my taste is at fault, but then, I'm the one who has to be able to sleep at night after an evening's literary consumption. It's like eating a meal of lean meat and veggies, feeling smug, and longing for a hot fudge sundae.
