Some novels resonate at the time they’re published, while others have plots, characters, and themes that never go out of date.
You probably think of beloved novels in the second category, and I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorites, The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi, written by Jacqueline Park more than twenty years ago. Because it was set in Renaissance Italy, there’s no outdated technology or fashions to spoil your reading experience.
What makes this novel special?
The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossitakes readers through numerous key events of the Italian Renaissance (wars, conflicts between Italian city-states, religious persecution, the sack of Rome, to name a few), from the unique vantage point of a gifted Jewish woman attempting to find her way in an often-hostile Christian culture.
Grazia records the secrets of her lifeso her son will understand her choices (and his heritage) after her passing.
The author based this story on a brief footnote about a real-life Italian woman of that era.
During Grazia’s lifetime, Italy experiences rebirth/renaissance on an intellectual level, with the discovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts. She encounters such luminaries as Pico della Mirandola, the Florentine philosopher, Aldus Manutius, Venice’s master printer, and Benevenuto Cellini, sculptor and writer.
At the same time, undercurrents of anti-Semitism and misogyny limit Grazia’s options and endanger her. Her romance with a Christian nobleman challenges her to abandon the faith and traditions of her ancestors, risking estrangement from her family. Grazia’s character, as well as several others, emerge as memorable portraits of the era.
As I revisited and reviewed this novel, I discovered that its author, Jacqueline Park, extended the story into a family saga with a sequel, The Legacy of Grazia dei Rossi, and the concluding volume, Son of Two Fathers (completed after her death by Gilbert Reid). I’m eager to read these novels, and I’d appreciate your comments if you’ve read either or both.
Characters:
Grazia dei Rossi—protagonist, daughter of a Jewish family who obtains a humanist education and struggles between allegiance to her heritage and her attraction to a man from outside the Jewish faith
Danilo—Grazia’s son, still an adolescent when this novel ends
Judah—Grazia’s husband, a highly-regarded Jewish physician who gains employment by the pope
Lord Pirro Gonzaga—a Christian nobleman whom Grazia meets for the first time during her adolescence
Marchesa Isabella d’Este da Gonzaga—a powerful noblewoman in Renaissance Rome, she employs Grazia as her private secretary and tries to persuade Grazia to convert to Christianity
Strengths:
This novel offers readers a close perspective on the Renaissance in Italy, revealing both high and low points of the era.
Weakness:
The novel’s length (560 pages) may deter some readers.
Content review:
The story includes scenes of physical intimacy, as well as violence, especially directed toward Jewish people
My Recommendation:
The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi will be a great read if you enjoy a thoughtful yet action-filled saga that places you in the midst of the Italian Renaissance.
Reader, do you have a favorite novel set in the Italian Renaissance?
Do you think a recent novel entitled, Labor of Love, is:
Related to a Shakespeare play
The story of a pregnant woman’s experience giving birth
Something entirely different
In the case of Marguerite Martin Gray’s recent novel, answer #3 is correct.
Summary:
Without further clues, you probably wouldn’t guess this author’s Labor of Love is set at the Pitti Palace, the residence of the Medici family that ruled Florence in the late Renaissance. Martin Gray takes us behind the scenes to reveal much about the Medici family in the weeks before their youngest daughter, Lucrezia, marries Duke Alfonso d’Este. And this is only the background in which Ana and Marco, the young protagonists, attempt to pursue their life’s goals and encounter each other.
The Medici family dominates the lives of many in Florence, including Ana, the family’s impoverished country relative. Not only do the Medicis control Ana’s activities at Pitti Palace, but Duke Cosimo chooses a husband for her (Guido Salviati) without giving her any say in the decision. This creates the novel’s major conflict—the more Ana gets to know Salviati, the more he repulses her, yet she is only a pawn in the Medicis’ political chess game.
Characters:
Ana Geovani—the sympathetic female protagonist, cousin and companion to the Medici daughters. Her passion is working in gardens, communing with God through nature.
Marco Rossi—the male protagonist, he’s a gardener with big plans for design, architecture, and ultimately owning his own land.
Duke Cosimo de’ Medici—ruler of Florence, he’s a wealthy banker and master politician and powerful as a king
Duchess Eleonora de’ Medici—Cosimo’s wife, strict and controlling all matters relating to her family and its position in society
Lucrezia de’ Medici—privilegedyoungest daughter of Cosimo and Eleonora, Ana’s closest cousin. Her life presents a marked contrast to Ana’s.
Guido Salviati—the villain, a military acquaintance of Duke Cosimo. The duke promises him Ana’s hand in marriage, in an effort to maintain Salviati’s loyalty.
Ernesto and Rosa Arturo—Head gardener at Pitti Palace, and his wife; they befriend Ana, modeling compassion and love
Strengths:
Labor of Love is an engaging storyabout life in Florence’s Pitti Palace with vivid details about the gardens and plants, descriptions of clothing and foods.
Weakness:
In an era when only priests had access to Bibles, the author didn’t demonstrate clearly how Ana, Rosa, and Ernesto, all lay people, were able to learn so much about religious faith—other than they saw God in nature and attended Mass.
Content review:
This novel definitely qualifies as clean, but it contains references to spousal abuse and allusions to threatened sexual violence
My recommendation:
Labor of Love offers an entertaining way to learn about life in late Italian Renaissance Florence and its ruling family, the Medicis, as well as characters in less fortunate positions in society. Readers who enjoy a faith-based romance will especially appreciate this novel.
Reader, can you recommend other novels about Renaissance Florence?
Why would you want to read about Duke Alfonso II, who ruled Ferrara during the Italian Renaissance, and his first two duchesses?
Why do 21st-century authors keep writing novels about these 16th-century Italians (who are unknown to 99% of people alive today)?
Spoiler clue: It’s the mystery that appeals to authors and readers—
Was 16-year-old Duchess Lucrezia murdered by her husband,
poisoned on his orders,
did she die of “putrid fever,”
or did something else happen?
When I picked up The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell’s recent novel set in Renaissance Italy, about Lucrezia de’ Medici (the third daughter of Grand Duke Cosimo de’Medici of Tuscany and first wife of Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara), I wondered:
How would this new novel compare to The Second Duchess, by Elizabeth Loupas, about Alfonso’s second wife, Barbara of Austria, (which I read when it came out in 2011)?
Although the two novels portray Lucrezia de’ Medici and her fate in very different ways, they share several elements:
Both novels engaged and entertained me, with strong plots and portrayals of their cultural settings
Protagonists (1st and 2nd duchesses) are pawns in the marriage checkerboard of ruling families—relatively young women sent to marry a man they’ve barely met in order to enhance their family’s standing.
Both women face danger when they marry the duke and move to Ferrara because of:
Their position as outsiders in the court at Ferrara
The duke’s unrestrained power over the people and places he rules, combined with his volatile temper
Both duchesses take agency as they can—they don’t passively do their husband’s bidding
Both novels revolve around the question of how the 1st duchess, Lucrezia de’ Medici, died at the age of 16 after little more than 1 year of married life in Ferrara
Now, on to focus on The Marriage Portrait:
Characters:
Lucrezia – protagonist, third daughter of Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici of Tuscany, portrayed as a brilliant, lonely misfit whose major way of expressing herself is by creating art
Emilia – Lucrezia’s loyal personal servant who goes with her from Florence to Ferrara when Lucrezia marries
Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara – mercurial husband of Lucrezia
Leonello Baldassare – Alfonso’s cousin and best friend, he shows instant dislike for Lucrezia
Elisabetta – Alfonso’s beautiful sister, friendly to Lucrezia
Nunciata – Alfonso’s less attractive sister, suspicious and unfriendly to Lucrezia
Jacopo – artist’s apprentice, bonds with Lucrezia due to their shared dialect (of Naples) and love of painting
Strengths:
Great character development and build-up of suspense
Strong plot and portrayal of cultural setting
Remarkable ending in which the author pulls together all the clues she has planted throughout the novel
Weakness:
Although the author mentions locations and dates at the beginning of each scene, alternating time periods between chapters may be confusing
Content review:
Marital sexual relations are mentioned, primarily to highlight both the era’s pressure for distinguished families to produce male heirs, and the wives’ lack of agency in this area
Depictions of violence common in this era
I recommend The Marriage Portrait to readers who enjoy novels with strong characters, surprising plots, long-ago settings, and plenty of suspense.
Reader, what are your favorite historical novels that include an element of mystery?
Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, I wish hope and peace for you in our troubled world.
Instead of a book review, this month, I’m offering you, loyal reader, my new short story, “Caterina’s Choice.” (Clicking the link will take you to StoryOrigin, where you can download my story to your chosen device.) The story isn’t holiday-themed; rather, it’s a short prequel to my debut novel,Lucia’s Renaissance, and I’d love to hear your thoughts about it.
How will you relax, if you have the opportunity, after many difficult months?
I offer two suggestionsfor your reading enjoyment, both historical fiction, but each quite unique, followed by an interview with author Maryann Philip.
Who would have thought that Martin Luther, Machiavelli, the Renaissance artist, Raphael, and various cardinals and popes would feature as characters in the same mystery story?
Author Maryann Philip uses her creative magic to weave these diverse historical personalities, as well as major fictional characters such as Machiavelli’s mistress and their daughter, Nicola (the protagonist), into an imaginative yet not incredible plot.
This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy an engaging, sometimes earthy, Renaissance-era mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH MARYANN PHILIP:
What led you to set your novels in the High Renaissance period?
The High Renaissance was my focus as a history major at Stanford, because it was the dawn of the modern age and an optimistic period of extraordinary intellectual and artistic achievement.
Why did you choose Renaissance Rome as the main setting for this novel?
It didn’t happen that way. I focused on Niccolò Machiavelli as the hub to my historic wheel, because he went everywhere and knew all the powers-that-be in Renaissance Italy. Machiavelli is very well-documented once he lands on the historic stage, however, so he could not be my primary character.
Instead I chose his fictional mistress (he had several) and illegitimate daughter (none known but certainly possible) as my protagonists. Why? Primarily because I love stories of strong women, and include real ones in these “real history mysteries” whenever possible.
The first story I wanted to tell was that of the Borgia family, and their interaction with Leonardo da Vinci. That required placing Machiavelli’s fictional daughter Nicola in Rome, at the convent where Lucrezia Borgia hid out while her first husband and father Pope Alexander VI fought about her divorce, and she gave birth to the child of another man. (Real history. Too racy not to tell! I have actually been to the convent, which still exists.) Nicola’s mother had to be in Milan, where Leonardo da Vinci was at the time, until he went to Rome to work for Cesare Borgia, as historic fact. All roads lead to Rome and ultimately all the characters ended up there. I made Caterina’s husband the last murder victim, so she could remain there as a widow working for the next “warrior” pope, Julius II. That gave me the backstory that continues through the rest of the series.
Does this novel work well as a stand-alone, or do you recommend reading A Borgia Daughter Dies and Da Vinci Detectsfirst?
All the novels in the series were drafted to read as stand-alones. The backstories of the main characters are consistent and evolve with the characters, however. You will recognize them and know their histories if you read any other book in the series.
What’s your process for creating plots involving famous historical figures? How do you keep their characters true to what’s known about the real people?
The plots derive from the story I want to tell. For example, in Martin Luther and Murder, I wanted to describe what horrified Martin Luther when he traveled to Rome as a devout young monk in 1509, inspiring him later to equate the Pope with the anti-Christ. That led me to dive into what was happening in 1509 in Rome, a story complicated by the fact that Pope Julius was actually leading papal armies against Bologna when Martin Luther was there, waiting with other monastics for him to return so they could meet with him. I therefore had to send Nicola’s mother Caterina to Bologna in order to write about Pope Julius II.
To get their personalities right, I read the best biographies I can find, and compare them. I also read some original documents. I have read many though certainly not all of the commentaries in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous codices, for example. And many of the writings of Martin Luther.
What sources helped you fill in the details of daily life for this story?
That’s hard. There are not too many social histories of ordinary life in Renaissance Italy. Two books I have found helpful are Law, Family and Women: Toward a Legal Anthropology of Renaissance Italy by Thomas Kuehn and The Structures of Everyday Life 15th-18th Century by Fernand Braudel.
Did you know how this novel would end before you began to write? Did your plot change as you wrote?
For each book I have to know first what real history I want to explore. That dictates who my murderer and murder victim(s) will be, which I have to know before I can start writing. That and the real history are the constraints that drive the plot. I knew, for example, exactly when Martin Luther arrived in Rome and when he left, a fact derived from his correspondence. The mystery had to be solved between those two dates. And the first victim had to be someone high in the Church to introduce the scandals that Luther was exposed to while visiting Rome.
How much did you have to deviate from history to create a satisfying story?
I try not to do it at all. I will take sides and often minority positions on historical controversies, which is more fun than simply repeating the conventional wisdom. I will also fill in gaps in the historical record. But I disclose when I am taking a minority view and any “cheats”–even down to minor discrepancies in dates— in the Afterword at the end of each book.
What were the most challenging aspects of writing?
The hardest work is being consistent with the real history, especially squeezing or expanding the story to comply with the dates. Some authors of historical fiction don’t bother, but this is important to me.
What did you enjoy most about writing this novel?
The money I made from A Borgia Daughter Dies allowed me to travel to Bologna and Pavia to envision these cities for the book.
What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
I call my “real history mysteries” candy-coated history and my hope is always that readers will learn some real history that is new to them. Many Catholics have been taught that Martin Luther was a monstrous revolutionary, who destroyed a church that would have remained whole, but for him. I tried to show him as I believe he was: a traditional and earnest Catholic scandalized by the terrible corruption in Rome, concerned with the sale of indulgences and increasingly uncertain about the worship of relics, both practices that Catholicism has since abandoned. Understanding this background helps explain how much tinder was lying around when Luther unwittingly struck the match.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to my readers? If you read any of my books and like them, please put up a review. The reviews are the only advertising I do. Martin Luther and Murder has not sold well. I would love to change that!
Readers, please share your favorite historical fiction reads this summer!
When you hear the name of Michelangelo, what comes to mind?
Painter of the Sistine Chapel in Rome?
Sculptor of the monumental David statue, symbol of Renaissance Florence?
Architect whose vision led to the completion of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome?
Poet who wrote more than 300 sonnets and madrigals about death, shortness of life, faith, love, etc.?
Michelangelo’s creations showed his genius,
but make us wonder*:
Was he born with these artistic gifts?
If not, how did he develophis talent?
How did he come up with his revolutionary new approaches to sculpture, painting, and architecture?
Was Michelangelo a model of how to develop or become a genius?
Was there a downside to his genius?
Powerful people virtually forced him to work on projects and in places he wouldn’t have chosen
As a rock star of his era, he attracted fans, but had few true friends. His peers (artists like Raphael and Bramante) were jealous of his success.
Did his success make for a happy life?
Michelangelo was a complex character with a complicated life.
Although he created masterpieces demanded by popes, hebelonged to a group of independent-thinking lay people, called spirituali, who embraced some of Martin Luther’s religious ideas, such as emphasis on the Bible as the only source of truth, and faith as the only way to salvation.
Did he secretly follow Luther? We can’t know, but his spirituality shines through in this passage from a poem he wrote 10 years before he died:
“Neither painting nor sculpture will be able any longer to calm my soul, now turned toward that divine love that opened his arms on the cross to take us in.”
(from Sonnet, poem 285, 1554, translated by James M. Saslow)
*For answers to these questions, I recommend The Giant, a recent novel by Laura Morelli, which approaches the complexities of Michelangelo’s personality through his friendship with fellow artist, Jacopo Torni. In contrast to Irving Stone’s Agony and the Ecstasy, which covers Michelangelo’s life story (1495-1564) in depth, The Giant is told from the perspective of Jacopo Torni, and focuses primarily on Michelangelo’s creation of the David statue (1501-1504).
This month, I’m excited to share an interview about The Giant with the author, Laura Morelli.
Q: Was there an event that triggered your decision to tell the story of Michelangelo’s creation of his monumental David statue?
Laura Morelli: The Giant: A Novel of Michelangelo’s David, was originally intended to be a nonfiction book in the spirit of Ross King’s Brunelleschi’s Dome. But then I put the project away for nearly twenty years! It was only after I pulled my old book proposal out of a drawer that I knew it was meant to be a novel instead.
For three decades, the story of Michelangelo’s David pestered me nearly as much as real-life Jacopo, the protagonist of THE GIANT, pestered his genius friend. I kept putting this project away, but it wouldn’t let me go. The story kept coming back to me over years.
Q: How did you discover a new angle that hadn’t been written about?
LM: I have always wondered what it was about Michelangelo’s David that changed the course of art history. How did that happen? How did a single man–and a single sculpture–have the power to transform the course of art history? As I began to look for answers in traditional art history research, I discovered a drama so incredible that you could not make it up! (Well, OK, I made a few things up… It’s a novel.)
As I looked for the right person to tell the story of Michelangelo’s gigante, I came across historical references to a Florentine fresco painter called Jacopo Torni, also known as L’Indaco.
The sixteenth-century art historian Giorgio Vasari tells us that L’Indaco lived “in close intimacy” with Michelangelo, and that Michelangelo found L’Indaco the funniest and most entertaining of his friends. We also know that Michelangelo invited L’Indaco to work with him on the Sistine Chapel in 1508. According to some sources, it was a friend who convinced Michelangelo to return to Florence to take on the David commission in 1501, and I like to think it was L’Indaco.
Michelangelo is one of the most notoriously temperamental artists in history, and I wondered about this relationship of seeming opposites. It is this push and pull of two creative friends, in combination with the creation of two of the most seminal works of art history—the David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling—that drew me to this story and made me want to explore this complicated friendship further.
Q: What sources helped you fill in the details and context for this story?
LM: I always start with primary sources—things written at the time. For the Italian Renaissance, there are so many great primary sources! My personal favorites are legal accounts. Sometimes the laws are so weird! And consider that laws are only made when someone does something considered egregious at the time; it really helps you understand what a culture valued and what they condemned.
For The Giant, I started with the fascinating primary accounts of Michelangelo’s David, then added the scant yet tantalizing known details of Jacopo Torni’s life.
Q: Did you discover any surprises while researching this novel?
LM: We know just enough about Jacopo to make him an incredibly interesting character: he was in Michelangelo’s inner circle, he worked on the Sistine ceiling, he may have invented a way to inhibit mold on fresco, he was funny, lazy, a practical jokester. Giorgio Vasari gives us one anecdote to hint at the complicated friendship he had with Michelangelo. Little more. What an interesting character! He’s the perfect protagonist for a historical novel, especially woven into the rich tapestry of the known facts around the creation of Michelangelo’s David.
Building out Jacopo’s character gave me the chance to delve into parts of Florentine history I didn’t know about before—life in the taverns, Renaissance card games, and (spoiler alert) what it was like to be in jail in 16th-century Florence. There were lots of fascinating surprises down each of those research rabbit holes!
Q: How much did you have to deviate from history to create a satisfying story? (What’s the ratio of fact to fiction?)
LM: For me, the fun of historical fiction is taking the facts as far as they go, then realizing there’s a whole lot of stuff we don’t know. It’s like putting together a complex jigsaw puzzle with a bunch of missing pieces. You make up the rest. For this period, there are so many rich sources that there was always at least a hint to get started.
Q: How did the events and changes happening at this time in Renaissance Florence impact the lives of your characters?
LM: It’s incredible to realize that while Michelangelo was sculpting his David, just down the street, Leonardo da Vinci was painting his famous Lisa. You can’t make that up! And that’s just one small thread in the rich tapestry of Renaissance Florence.
Q: What were the most challenging aspects of writing your novel?
LM: Honestly, this book was a long slog! Whenever you write about a real historical person—especially a “giant” like Michelangelo—you feel the burden of responsibility to do justice to your subject. I thought about this a lot as I was writing.
Q: What did you enjoy most about writing The Giant?
LM: I enjoyed living vicariously in Florence circa 1500 for many years—if only in my head.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away after reading The Giant?
LM: My readers tell me they read historical fiction to transport themselves to the past—and to learn something new. They don’t want to be hit over the head with a textbook but they want to come away smarter. I hope they also come away entertained and enriched by an armchair trip to Renaissance Italy.
Reader, would you want to be a genius if you had to go through what Michelangelo experienced?
