The year is 1527, and Rome is being attacked by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his army of Germans, Lutherans, and Spanish soldiers. The night the city was sacked, many fled or died at the hands of the soldiers, but there was a house who welcomes the incoming attackers, the house of the courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini and her dwarf companion Bucino. They decide to flee with their jewelry to Venice, but they soon learn that Venice is even more treacherous. Can Fiammetta and Bucino survive their new city, or will this new town destroy everything that they worked so hard to create? Sarah Dunant explores the world of a courtesan in her novel, “In the Company of the Courtesan.”
This is one of those books that I found at a used bookstore. I saw that it took place during the Sack of Rome, which was intriguing to me because I have not read many novels set during this time in Italian history. I also have never read any books by Sarah Dunant, but I have heard good things about her novels, so I wanted to give them a try.
We begin with the night that Rome was attacked. While Rome was burning and people were dying, Fiammetta Bianchini, one of the most prized courtesans in all of Rome, and her “pimp” Bucino, decided that to survive the night, they would open their home to the invading soldiers. In the aftermath, they decide to swallow their remaining jewels and leave Rome for somewhere safer, Venice. It was Fiammetta’s home before she moved away to Rome, but she soon realizes that beauty is fleeting as an illness wrecks her body. It is then that the duo meets a blind, elderly healer named La Draga.
Fiammetta and Bucino must rebuild their lives in a new city, but they soon discover that a new city means new dangers. There’s a theft of a great jewel that could end their enterprise before it even begins, and a poet from the past who could spell disaster to Fiametta’s reputation. There is a book with scandalous drawings that is dangerous to own, a young lad whose puppy love could lead the Lady astray, and a Turk who has an interest in human novelties for his sultan’s court. And then, there is the case of La Draga and her true identity.
Dunant created a seedy underworld of Renaissance Venice that feels so believable, it is almost as if you can step into the pages. I enjoyed the characters of Bucino and Fiammetta, but towards the middle of the book, I was wondering how she was going to finish this novel. To me, the ending felt a bit rushed. Overall, I think this was a decent novel about Renaissance Italy. If you want a novel set in 16th-century Italy that has a darker tone, I would suggest you read “In the Company of the Courtesan” by Sarah Dunant.
The Renaissance was a time of learning and of challenging what was considered normal, especially in theology and the foundations of the Catholic Church. It was a time when humanism was beginning to take shape as an educational system, one that focused on the classical literature of Greece and Rome, as well as on rhetoric, philosophy, and critical thinking. One of the top proponents of the school of humanism was a monk turned scholar named Desiderius Erasmus. His name and his works have been famous for centuries, but what was his life like as a scholar in 16th-century Europe? Amy McElroy explores the life of this extraordinary man in her latest book, “Desiderius Erasmus: The Folly or Far Sightedness of Renaissance Europe’s Greatest Mind.”
Today, I am pleased to welcome J. P. Reedman to my blog to share a spotlight for her novel “Bride of the Devil.” I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and J.P. Reedman for allowing me to participate in this blog tour.
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Some queens throughout history surpass the history of their own countries and create legacies that would transcend centuries. One such queen was Cleopatra, Pharaoh of Egypt, who loved both Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony). She fought against her siblings and even Rome for the right to rule Egypt. There have been accusations of witchcraft and Cleopatra being a seductress, but is this a fair assessment of this Queen of Egypt? Saara El-Arifi tells her own version of Cleopatra’s story, from the queen herself, in her latest novel, “Cleopatra.”
Becoming an adult is an important stage in the life of anyone. Usually, the age at which a young person becomes an adult is seen as eighteen. It is a time when you leave your childhood behind for a bigger adventure. What was life like for some of the most famous people who lived in Britain throughout the centuries? Did they know when they were eighteen what great things they would do? What advice can they offer to a newer generation of young adults? Alice Loxton explores the lives of eighteen extraordinary figures of British history when they became adults in her book “Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives.”
When we think about medieval princesses, we often think about pawns in the marriage market. They were born to become brides to create stronger alliances between nations. They helped rule kingdoms, but more importantly, they gave birth to heirs to help their new families’ dynasties continue to grow. But outside of marriages, what was life like for these royal women? How did certain women break the stereotype that comes with being a medieval princess? And how did the political environments of their new kingdoms affect their marriages and their families? Sharon Bennett Connolly explores these questions in her latest book, “Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest.”
I am pleased to welcome Mary Lawrence to my blog today to share a snippet from her latest novel, “Fool.” I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Mary Lawrence for allowing me to participate in this blog tour. 
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In English history, there have been some legendary warrior kings, but none have captured the imagination of the general public quite like Henry V. He was the King who won a great victory at Agincourt, almost captured France, but died young and never got to see his son become king of both England and France, albeit for a short time. For the English, Henry V was seen as a hero to the nation, but is his legacy much darker? Desmond Seward dives into the archives to find a much more ruthless king for his biography, “Henry V: The Scourge of God.”
When we think about powerful queens, we tend to think about medieval and early modern rulers. However, there were queens from ancient times who rose to power and gained reputations that lasted for centuries. In ancient Babylon, there was one woman who began life as an orphan but fought her way to become the Queen of Assyria. She was known as both Semiramis and later Sammuramat, the wife of Ninus, who was known by his royal name Shamshi-Adad V. How did Semiramis become the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire? Her story and the stories of the two men she fell in love with are told in Costanza Casati’s latest novel, “Babylonia.”
Adventures of a Tudor Nerd 