Do you think a recent novel entitled, Labor of Love, is:

1. Related to a Shakespeare play
2. The story of a pregnant woman’s experience giving birth
3. Something entirely different

In the case of Marguerite Martin Gray’s recent novel, answer #3 is correct.

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—privileged youngest 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 story about 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?