Leonardo's Swans - Karen Essex

A little while back I found a copy of Karen Essex's Leonardo's Swans at a Library book sale. I've always wanted to read one of her books and I have a slight fascination with Leonardo da Vinci. And it's a perfect read for the Art History Reading Challenge.

In brief:

Thought I was going to hate it but ended up loving it. A story of two sisters. A story of Leonardo da Vinci. Check it out.

Synopsis:

The story revolves around two sisters, Isabella and Beatrice d'Este. Isabella is the typical blond gorgeous beauty:

And Beatrice is the younger, more wild and less traditionally beautiful sister:
At first Isabella is ecstatic that she is engaged to handsome young Marquess of Mantua. And they are actually in love with each other. Here's the handsome Francesco:

And poor Beatrice. She is engaged to the OLD Duke of Milan. I mean, hey, he's a Duke, but he's so old! Here's the Duke, Ludovico Sforza, a.k.a. Il Moro "The Moor".

The Duke is known for being wealthy, having mistresses, and being a patron to Leonardo da Vinci. He's also known for having Leonardo paint portraits of his mistresses. Here's the famous da Vinci portrait, Lady with an Ermine, which was The Duke's favorite mistress Cecilia Gallerani:

And another mistress by da Vinci of Lucrezia Crivelli:
But against all odds, when Beatrice marries The Duke, this wild, dark-haired, lover of horses gets her husband to fall in love with her. And she become a great Duchess.

And Isabella is at odds. Now she is slightly jealous. She's not a Duchess and she's never going to be immortalized by Leonardo da Vinci...like Beatrice will be. Not that Beatrice cares.

So I thought I wasn't going to like this book because I thought Isabella was going to be a scheming evil sister and poor Beatrice was going to get trampled over by The Duke. But that's not what happened.

Even though the sisters are separated, through their letters and life circumstances, they actually become fairly close and bond. I loved watching that unfold.

And Beatrice became my favorite. She became such a strong capable Duchess able to woo and win her husband while becoming a fairly apt ruler herself.

While this would have been an interesting story on it's own, folded in is the story of Leonardo's time under the patronage of The Duke. So we get to see tidbits of his life and art during this period and how and why he made them. For instance, this little piece of art for The Duke:

Also Reviewed By:
Hist-Fic Chick

The Raucous Royals on Cecilia Gallerani

And the Winner Is...

A big thanks to everyone who entered my contest for Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

I love hearing about people's love of all things Jane.

I used Random.Org and after much ado:

The winner is:

rhapsodyinbooks

Congratulations!

Vote for Charlie

Happy Sunday Everyone!

So I entered my Charlie Dog into a photo contest over at WeTv. If you want to, please head over there to vote for him. You can use this link. Thank you!

Nostalgia

I feel old today. I just heard that John Hughes passed away (I Heart Ferris Bueller) and Reading Rainbow has been cancelled. If I hear that Big Bird had a heart attack I may just go home early today.

Giveaway

Some of you may know of the Jane Austen Challenge which is being hosted by Stephanie's Written Word. I have way too many books to read to join in the challenge, but I thought I'd do a little giveaway for those of you who are joining in.

I have a paperback copy of Laurie Viera Rigler's book Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. You can read my review of the book and see if it's something you'd like to win.

The contest runs through August 14th and is open world-wide. The only rule: in your comment, tell me when you first started becoming a Jane Austen fan.

Good luck!

Another Quiz

I'm a sucker for online quizzes. I found this one on A Reader's Journal. I thought it was pretty funny that I'm a self-improving traveling tree hugger. I like that.

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Self-Improving Traveling Tree Hugger

The Girl on the Via Flaminia - Alfred Hayes

I am in a bit of a Europa Editions kick. Along with Margherita Dolce Vita, I checked out The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes from the public library. It's a reprint of the novel which was originally published in 1949. I have to say I am really liking these books.

I didn't know anything about Alfred Hayes when I checked it out. Apparently he was a British writer, poet, and screenwriter. He even won an Academy Award in 1951. Wow. And apparently he adapted The Girl on the Via Flaminia into a play and then a film staring Kirk Douglas called Un Acte D'amour.

A little bit about the story:

It's set in Rome, Italy during World War II. Robert is an American stationed in Rome during the period following the liberation of Italy from the Germans. Italy was very grateful to the Allies...at first...but now they just want them gone. They want their country back.

Robert has made a deal with a local Italian girl, Lisa. She rents a room in a house, they pretend they are married. She gets some food, gifts, etc....he gets company at night. But in war, nothing is that simple.

This was a fairly short novel but very powerful. The book jacket sort of gave me the impression that this was a love story. But I wouldn't call it that. It really portrayed a segment of society that may get overlooked in other war stories. What happens to people when their country is occupied whether it be by friends or foe? What happens to the women? How do they survive?

I found it fascinating that Robert is an American while Alfred Hayes was a British writer. It really didn't portray Americans in a positive light...not negatively but definitely not positive either. Maybe spoiled and naive. And the title of the book, I think, references the type of girls who walk the streets who get picked up for money. And of course the ending was perfect for this type of novel. It really leaves you hanging...which is the point.

I found a great cover of an older edition of this novel: