The Shepherdess of Siena by Linda Lafferty

The Shepherdess of Siena:  A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany is actually a saga of Renaissance Tuscany.  This epic saga of nearly 600 pages recounts the popular and scandalizing stories linked to the de' Medici royal family, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany at the beginning of their royal-ness, and how they affect their subjects, with much about one particular subject, a young shepherdess from Siena, in Tuscany. 

 

The de' Medici banking family was raised to royal status over the Tuscany Dutchy under military powerhouse Cosimo de' Medici in the 1500s.  Fictionalized versions of his children are the focus of this book, along with their interactions with artists and subjects under their reign, most importantly with Virginia, a shepherdess with many hidden talents.  Virginia is based on an historical figure, too.  Her story in this book is half fact and half fiction, as the author admits in the Author's Notes.

The de' Medici have long been favorites of historical gossips, many of whom have put the salacious inventions linked to the family down in print, giving them an authority they do not always have in historical fact.  The author makes use of these juicy stories for her novel.  And much historical research has also gone into the development of the story, which will surely please fans of historical epic novels.

There are 102 chapters divided among seven parts in The Shepherdess of Siena:

1. A de' Medici Princess and the Little Shepherdess - 1569-1574
2. The Death of Cosimo de' Medici - 1574-1576
3. Murder in Tuscany - 1576-1578
4. The Heroine of Siena - 1579-1581
5. Ferrara - 1581-1582
6. The Art of Death 1582-1586
7. The Reign of Granduca Ferdinando - 1586-1591

This sweeping saga covers romance, politics, gossip, power, patronage, crime, religion, sports, patriotism, royals, adventure, pathos...  The voice is sometimes first-person, and at other times third-person.  The text is sprinkled with Italian words.   The English is excellent and the editing expert.   

This is one for historical novel fans, those who love to be immersed in another time and place.  Italophiles with a love of Italian history should enjoy the time they can spend in Renaissance Tuscany, hobnobbing with the exciting de' Medici family.

From the book's description:

Raised by her aunt and uncle amidst the rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside, young orphan Virginia Tacci has always harbored a deep love for horses—though she knows she may never have the chance to ride. As a shepherdess in sixteenth-century Italy, Virginia’s possibilities are doubly limited by her peasant class and her gender.

Yet while she tends her flock, Virginia is captivated by the daring equestrian feats of the high-spirited Isabella de’ Medici, who rides with the strength and courage of any man, much to the horror of her brother, the tyrannical Gran Duca Francesco de’ Medici.

Inspired, the young shepherdess keeps one dream close to her heart:  to race in Siena’s Palio. Twenty-six years after Florence captured Siena, Virginia’s defiance will rally the broken spirit of the Senese people and threaten the pernicious reign of the Gran Duca.

Bringing alive the rich history of one of Tuscany’s most famed cities, this lush, captivating saga draws an illuminating portrait of one girl with an unbreakable spirit.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

If you enjoy her historical epic style, you are in luck:  she has more novels out, each set in a different era.  Here is a link to a lovely article in The Aspen Times newspaper about their local author.

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

Her Brooding Italian Boss by Susan Meier

I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  To be honest, with that silly title I wasn't expecting much.  It is a well-written clean contemporary romance featuring an Italian-American man, Antonio, and his Italian father.  The young woman who falls for Antonio's honest charms and not and just his good looks, Laura Beth, benefits from the relationship just as much Antonio does. 

"He was a good man, with a big heart and so much talent she almost couldn't fathom it."

That Antonio is in line to inherit his father's millions, and that he lives the life of a millionaire, is not really that important of a factor in the couple's growing relationship.  This is very refreshing in a genre seemingly flooded with women prostituting themselves to be with millionaires and billionaires. 

We see the story from two points of view, Antonio's and Laura Beth's, with a third-person limited narration.  But at times the author uses an omniscient narrator.  Both characters are given interesting back stories, shaping their present selves into convincing people.  For my tastes, I found the book spent too much time in the characters' minds, growing repetitive at times, and there was too little action taking place, but that is often the style with this genre.

The couple have known each other for years, and have always felt an attraction, but the timing of life's events has always been off.  This makes their inevitable coupling seem more convincing than in those stories that want us to believe in a couple's happily-ever-after, after only a few weeks of knowing each other.

Part of the story takes place in the States, and part of the story happens in Italy's region of Tuscany.  We even have a quick jaunt to Barcelona, Spain.  The author gives us a satisfying finish.  But there are several themes left unresolved after the abrupt ending of this novella-length book:  Antonio's painting and his career, her career, where the couple will live...  One more chapter would have completed the story of this modern Mr. Rochester/Jane Eyre nicely for me.

This book is published by Harlequin Romance.  From the book's description:

From his assistant…to his muse!

Pregnant and broke, Laura Beth's only option is to take a job with brooding yet brilliant artist Antonio Bartulocci.  He may be darkly handsome, but the fiery Italian proves to be a difficult boss!

Since his wife's betrayal, Antonio has been unable to pick up a brush.  But captivated by Laura Beth's guileless beauty, he wonders if she could be the woman to unlock the talent he thought he'd lost forever… It's a miracle which reminds him of all that's now good in this life:  Laura Beth! 

Have you never been to the Siena area of Tuscany?  Here is a 2 minute video introduction to the area's unique landscape.

Here are direct links to the book at Amazon.com as a Kindle e-book and paperback, and as part of a 3-e-book bundle at a special price:

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

A Zany Slice of Italy by Ivanka Di Felice

Ever wonder what it would be like to take a year off and live among your Italian relatives in Italy?  Wonder no longer!  The author has done it and recounts it with wit and wisdom in this memoirs.  Her first-generation Canadian-Italian husband manages to get Italian citizenship, so they can stay in Italy legally, and have some health coverage, too.  What they didn't count on was the gregarious Italian social life that centers around family. 

Family in Italy means obligations, inspections, helping hands, intrusive noses, lots of free food, opinionated lectures, and a bedroom now and then when touring the country.  North American culture allows for more privacy than the author and her husband, both a bit introverted, discover is an oddity in densely populated, highly-social, and close-knit Italy.

The reality is that when you visit Italy, you'll be hijacked by relatives of all sorts; the entire family tree is waiting to meet you.

The style of humor and writing in A Zany Slice of Italy reminded me of Ferenc Mate, another Canadian who emigrated to Italy and wrote a book about it.  Mate bought a property and built it into a winery.  His story was about a project, and it had a beginning and end, of sorts, since the end of the book meanders off into strange territory.

A Zany Slice of Italy is more about family in Italy in 2006 and 2007.  Here is the author describing their camping out in the guest room of a relative's Roman home:

The next day, two presents are sitting on our bed--for me, a pair of bright green fuzzy pajamas.  I put them on and bear a resemblance to a giant frog.  I show them to Zia, and she is pleased.

"You just need to tuck the top into the bottoms," she says.

I obey and now resemble a giant pregnant frog.  With my new pajamas and my baby-pink wool socks, I am informed that my insides are now safe.  David, too, has received a pair of pajamas in a ghastly color, suitable for arctic conditions.  Romance in Rome will just have to wait.

While I know many of the situations described will provoke laughter in many people, I have experienced many of the same difficulties as the author and her husband, so I did not find them all that funny.  Instead, I found many of them capable of provoking harrowing flashbacks of past frustrations, humiliations, and inexplicable roadblocks to happiness. 

There may be too many chapters about problems and annoyances, and not enough about pleasures, since more than once I found myself wondering why they remained in Italy!  The quality of the food, and the beauty of the art, architecture, and much of the landscape is not always enough to forgive the corruption, inefficiency and lack of professionalism, rudeness, pollution, traffic, ignorance, bigotries, superficial attitudes, sexism, and a lack of housing and jobs.  Not in the long run, anyway.  A low-trust society can be very draining on people from high-trust societies.

There is no explanation as to how and why the author started writing down her experiences, which take place roughly fifty percent in Abruzzo, and fifty percent in Tuscany.  From the description of the often hectic life they had that year in Italy, I wondered when the author had time to write anything at all!  I can imagine the chapters as humorous blog posts, or diary entries:  they are that summarized and of the appropriate length. 

What is sometimes missing is the filler information.  I found myself asking questions like:  How did they befriend those people?  Where did they meet those couples?  Why did they accept that invitation?  Why did they make that momentous decision?  How did they prepare for that?  Why are they there? 

The questions faded as I continued on with the author's engaging voice, filled with humor and irony.  She has a good eye for the absurd, is sensitive to insults, and has the open mind of a person who grew up in a multi-cultural society.  Most Italians do not have that open mind.  For the most part, they reject the reality of immigration, and out-of-hand reject the idea that another culture can offer them something worthwhile.  The author presents these bigoted ideas by simply quoting the Italians, letting us hear them for ourselves.

The book is well-written and expertly edited.  The cover is cute and fits the book perfectly.  I feel that the book is actually a book and an half.  The selective story of the couple's year in Italy feels like one book that should end when the couple returns to Canada.  I looked for the chapter on how they try to integrate into their life in Canada all the things they learned they loved while living in Italy. 

Instead there is an immediate and barely explained leap back to Italy, where the couple hopes to live permanently.  They leave good jobs behind to move to a country where it is nearly impossible to find a job, let alone a job that provides a livable wage.  The stories related in that "second book" are so negative I kept waiting for the leap back to Canada. 

That leap may still come, but it is not in this book, which is why I feel like the second book is only half there.  There is no resolution to their economic woes.  Perhaps this book is an attempt to find one.  As the author says:

...despite my reality--the chaotic, relentless visits from fun-loving paesani and relatives; dealing with Italy's Byzantine bureaucracies; the difficulty earning a living--I realize my life here is much richer than I ever could have imagined.

I wish them all the best of luck and happiness!

The couple spent much of their time in Abruzzo.  If you've never been there, here is a 2 minute tour:

From the book's description:

This light, lively book takes place in Italy, with hilarious anecdotes about the author and her husband’s trip to visit his family in Abruzzo and finally their escape to Tuscany.

Her own expectations were shattered when she embarked on la dolce vita. She envisioned drinking unforgettable Brunello by candlelight and discussing art and history with elegant dinner guests. Instead, dinner discussions revolved around how to avoid a “bad wind,” whether the Mafia runs IKEA, and bizarre theories on why the Chinese in Italy never have funerals. Now she drinks Zio’s own “unforgettable,” almost undrinkable, wine, as he pays long-winded tributes to the vile liquid as if it were an elixir of the gods. Celebrate with our author—for mere mortals, or their livers, could not have lived to tell the tale.

Ivanka thought her hair would suddenly become long and thick and her bust size would miraculously increase. She would be dressed by Dolce and Gabbana. Yet instead of wearing four-inch spike heels with a flowing linen skirt, she actually became less fashionable in Italy and could model “forty is the new sixty” with her newly adopted casalinga look.

Follow her unlikely adventures as she’s reduced to tears by crazy-making Italian bureaucrats and tries to find work as a truffle telemarketer. You will encounter elderly aunts climbing trees, pyromaniac septuagenarians, and all sorts of “fowl” play.

So pour yourself a glass of bad Italian wine, add a dose of accordion music, and spend some time in Ivanka Di Felice’s Italy.

Here are direct links to the paperback and e-book editions of the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's Facebook page.

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

Dreams of Tuscany by Kate Fitzroy

This contemporary romance novel begins where many Italophiles would like to be, viewing a Tuscan farm to purchase:

"I shall have to buy this house!" he said, laughing, "I am not going to pretend otherwise.  It is the house of my dreams.  My Tuscan dream!"

"Did you know that the house is called Villa Sognidoro?" she asked, adding with yet another wide smile.  "It translates as Villa of golden Dreams...or sweet dreams, as we would say in English."

The "she" and "he" above are Alex, a wealthy English vacation house hunter, and Zoe, a hard-working English estate-agent based in Tuscany.  Zoe gets a very bad case of jump-the-hot-client, so bad that I wondered about her sanity.  She thinks to herself, after spending an hour showing Alex a Tuscan farm:

"...she would happily spend the rest of her life with him."

Love at first sight hits other characters in the book, left and right.  That is not really a surprise, considering this is a contemporary love story.  The author also shows her characters' love growing, and she shows solid love that has lasted a lifetime together.  We also get a glimpse of some unhealthy forms of love, like the overbearing love of a possessive mother.

Jane Austen is mentioned early on, and Austen character names appear here and there.  I suspect that is no coincidence.  The misunderstandings, the eccentric characters, the rich handsome men, the helpful couples, the gossip, the bad guys, the sympathetic protagonist and equally sympathetic love interest:  Jane Austen strikes again!  There is no doubt that the woman will be inspiring romantic writers for generations to come.

Have you never been to Tuscany?  Are you unsure what all the fuss is about?  Here is a two minute video introduction to the lovely, timeless Tuscany:

The book is written in British English, which to an American will be sprinkled with a few words that might cause confusion, and it will be seemingly missing a few hundred commas or so.  Nothing too onerous.  It is well-written and well-edited, and I'm glad I requested a review-copy.  There is gentle humor, a sympathetic protagonist, and a satisfying love story.

The setting is stunning, of course.  Tuscany, like all of Italy, has been invaded by foreigners seeking La Dolce Vita.  Perhaps it will be like a scale that tips and tips and tips until the invasion of non-Italians tips the scale so far that La Dolce Vita disappears for good?  Who knows.  But this contemporary romance is a fun escape, and a solid entry in the contemporary romance set in Italy genre.

From the book's description:

Estate agent Zoe Bennett meets a client, Alex Knight, to show him around a derelict Tuscan villa.  The perfect vista across the valley of sun-scorched red earth and grape vines outlined against the azure sky is so breathtaking that Alex is determined to buy it and restore it to its former glory.  When the viewing is followed by a flirtatious lunch at Zoe’s favourite trattoria, she hopes that the villa may not be the only thing Alex has fallen for that day…

However, she soon discovers that Alex already has a family, so regretfully tries to move on.  Then Massimo, a handsome environmental lawyer, enters the scene, dazzling Zoe with gifts and declarations of undying love – yet she still cannot get Alex out of her mind.  When the villa’s beautiful landscape is endangered and Alex stands to lose his dream property, Zoe begins to question Massimo’s motives.  But can she save the villa for Alex in time?  And will the mysterious and alluring Mr. Knight turn out to be her Mr. Right after all?

Dreams of Tuscany is published by Carina UK, a digital imprint of Harlequin Books.

Direct link to the book's page at Carina

Here are direct links to the book at Amazon.com:

Would you like to see some more of Tuscany?  Here is a video called, appropriately, Dreams of Tuscany, a compilation of beautiful photographs of Tuscany:

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.

The Towers of Tuscany by Carol M. Cram

The Towers of Tuscany is a fictional biography of an Italian woman born in the early years of the Italian Renaissance, or the late years of the Middle Ages, depending on your classification.  Sophia is born in the Tuscan town of San Gimignano.  The daughter of a painter, Sophia learns her father's craft, even surpassing her father in accomplishment, but because she is a woman in an institutionally misogynistic society, she is forbidden from practicing the profession openly.

The Towers of Tuscany is divided into three parts:

• Part One:  San Gimignano 1338
• Part Two:  Siena 1338
• Part Three:  San Gimignano 1341

 

The town used to boast over 60 towers.

The sense of place, San Gimignano and Siena, is very strong in The Towers of Tuscany.  Reading the book, I felt I was walking the streets of the medieval towns, and looking at the art that adorns them.  The book is rich with historical detail, and rich with artistic detail that might not be of interest to all readers, but they are certainly well-researched artistic details.

We first meet Sophia when she is a married woman in her early twenties.  The author leads us along the next years of Sophia's life, filling in her past using flashback sequences.  The historical novel ends with Sophia's presumed death.  An Epilogue gives an otherworldly ending to Sophia's story as an artist.

 

 

Art is the driving force of The Towers of Tuscany, and for the character of Sophia.  I felt compassion for the woman and sympathy, but overall, I did not like Sophia, just as it is difficult to like driven people in any time and any place.  Driven personalities do not make particularly nice people.  They are self-centered and selfish.

Like most women in her misogynistically repressive time, Sophia's life was limited, difficult, and at times horrendous.  She suffers violence and rape at the hand of her husband.  Despite her efforts to do so, Sophia is not allowed to choose when and how often she becomes pregnant, but she is saved from an early death from the exhaustion and difficult childbirths that is the all-too-often result of continual pregnancy.  That does not mean the book is death free.  On the contrary, death is frequent and bloody throughout the book.

 

 

Sophia paints altarpieces like this one.

Early on in The Towers of Tuscany we learn that Sophia is suffering severely from her loveless and violent situation.  She is described as having serious psychological problems, including self-harming tendencies, and violent fantasies of murdering people.  When a chance to escape her situation occurs, Sophia is forced into living in another psychologically damaging situation.  There really is no escape for this poor woman.

Being a biography, the book cannot escape being episodic.  It reminded me of the historical novels by the late author F. Marion Crawford.  I have a page about the man on this site, with links to many of his books as free e-books.  The old-fashioned feel of the style of the book is in contrast to the feminist subject matter.

Sophia is a fresco painter like her idol Giotto.

The rape scene is horrific.  The sex scenes are suggestive but not explicit.  At a certain point I found myself thinking of the French film The Return of martin Guerre, that was made in English, by and starring Jodie Foster, as Sommersby.  If you enjoyed those films, and you enjoy historical novels with female protagonists, you should like The Towers of Tuscany.  The author provides Questions for Discussion at the end of the book, as well as historical resource information.

Here is a two minute guide to San Gimignano, little changed over the centuries, by travel writer Rick Steves:

From the book's description, which gives away too much of the plot in my opinion:

Set amid the twisting streets and sunlit piazzas of medieval Italy, The Towers of Tuscany tells the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter’s workshop.

Trained in secret by her father to create the beautifully-crafted panels and altarpieces acclaimed today as masterpieces of late medieval art, Sofia’s desire for freedom from her father’s workshop leads her to betray her passion and sink into a life of loveless drudgery with a husband who comes to despise her when she does not produce a son.

In an attack motivated by vendetta, Sofia’s father is crushed by his own fresco, compelling Sofia to act or risk the death of her soul.  The choice she makes takes her on a journey from misery to the heights of passion—both as a painter and as a woman. Sofia escapes to Siena where, disguised as a boy, she paints again.  When her work attracts the notice of a nobleman who discovers the woman under the dirty smock, Sofia is faced with a choice that nearly destroys her.

The Towers of Tuscany unites a strong heroine with meticulously researched settings and compelling characters drawn from the rich tapestry of medieval Italy during one of Europe's most turbulent centuries. The stylishly written plot is packed with enough twists and turns to keep readers up long past their bedtimes.

 

 

Sophia dreams of painting an altarpiece annunciation like her idol Fra Angelico

The Towers of Tuscany is published by New Arcadia Publishing.

New Arcadia Publishing is a new, independent publisher interested in publishing novels that relate in some way to creativity and the arts.  (They accept unsolicited submissions.)

Direct link to The Towers of Tuscany at NAP

The book is available as a paperback and Kindle e-book from Amazon.com.  Here are direct links to the two editions of The Towers of Tuscany:

Visit the author's website.

 

 

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.