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Dancing is one of the many things I should be good at that I am not. Unlike my sister. Plautilla can move across the floor like water and sing a stave of music like a song bird, while I, who can translate both Latin and Greek faster than she or my brothers can read it, have club feet on the dance floor and a voice like a crow. Though I swear if I were to paint the scale I could do it in a flash: shining gold leaf for the top notes falling through ochres and reds into hot purple and deepest blue.
Alessandra's story, though central, is only one part of this multi-faceted and complex historical novel. Dunant paints a fascinating array of women onto her dark canvas, each representing the various fates of early Renaissance women: Alessandra's lovely (if simple) sister Plautilla is interested only in marrying rich and presiding over a household; the brave Erila, Alessandra's North African servant (and willing accomplice) has such a frank understanding of the limitations of her sex that she often escapes them; and Signora Cecchi, Alessandra's beautiful but weary mother tries to encourage yet temper the passions of her wayward daughter.
A luminous and lush novel, The Birth of Venus, at its heart, is a mysterious and sensual story with razor-sharp teeth. Like Alessandra, Dunant has a painter's eye--her writing is rich and evocative, luxuriating in colors and textures of the city, the people, and the art of 15th-century Florence. Reminiscent of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, but with sensual splashes of color and the occasional thrill of fear, Dunant's novel is both exciting and enchanting. --Daphne Durham
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Alessandra is not quite fifteen when her prosperous merchant father brings a young painter back with him from Holland to adorn the walls of the new family chapel. She is fascinated by his talents and envious of his abilities and opportunities to paint to the glory of God. Soon her love of art and her lively independence are luring her into closer involvement with all sorts of taboo areas of life. On excursions into the streets of night-time Florence she observes a terrible evil stalking the city and witnesses the rise of the fiery young priest, Savanarola, who has set out to rid the city of vice, richness, even art itself.Alessandra must make crucial decisions about the shape of her adult life, as Florence itself must choose between the old ways of the luxury-loving Medicis and the asceticism of Savanorola. And through it all, there is the painter, whose love will change everything. Reissued in a new look is this richly imagined historical novel that combines mystery, history, politics and passion in a story of gripping power, from the author of SACRED HEARTS Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781844089123
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9781844089123
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Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Reissued in a new look is this richly imagined historical novel that combines mystery, history, politics and passion in a story of gripping power, from the author of SACRED HEARTS. Seller Inventory # B9781844089123
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 432 pages. 7.56x4.96x1.18 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __1844089126
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Book Description Condition: New. 2013. Paperback. Reissued in a new look is this richly imagined historical novel that combines mystery, history, politics and passion in a story of gripping power, from the author of SACRED HEARTS Num Pages: 432 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 199 x 132 x 30. Weight in Grams: 330. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9781844089123
Book Description Condition: New. 2013. Paperback. Reissued in a new look is this richly imagined historical novel that combines mystery, history, politics and passion in a story of gripping power, from the author of SACRED HEARTS Num Pages: 432 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 199 x 132 x 30. Weight in Grams: 330. . . . . . Seller Inventory # V9781844089123