The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi: Book 1 (Grazia dei Rossi Trilogy, 1) - Softcover

Park, Jacqueline

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770898891 ISBN 13: 9781770898899

Publisher: House of Anansi Press, 2015

Synopsis

Grazia dei Rossi, private secretary to the world-renowned Isabella d’Este, is the daughter of an eminent Jewish banker, the wife of the pope’s Jewish physician, and the lover of a Christian prince. In a secret book,” written as a legacy for her son, she records her struggles to choose between the seductions of the Christian world and a return to the family, traditions, and duties to her Jewish roots. As she re-creates Renaissance Italy in captivating detail, Jacqueline Park gives us a timeless portrait of a brave and brilliant woman trapped in an unforgiving, inflexible society.

A sweeping saga of intrigue and romance set during the Italian Renaissance, The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi is an unforgettable tale, told through the eyes of Grazia dei Rossi, a young Jewish woman torn between duty and forbidden romance and who wins our hearts with her recorded secrets of love.

About this title

Review

The "secret book" of the title--or libro segreto, in the old Florentine manner--is the detailed account of Grazia dei Rossi's exciting and turbulent life, written so that her son might know his legacy. Inspired by a letter written centuries ago by a young Jewish woman to Isabella d'Este, The Secret Book of Grazia is a rich and complex work of fiction. This historical novel brings to life the sublime art, political corruption, and religious intolerance of 16th-century Florence from a rarely explored vantage point: the complicated symbiosis between Christian and Jew. Grazia dei Rossi, educated daughter of a wealthy Jewish family, has fallen in love with a young Christian nobleman. Forced to choose between her love and her faith, she chooses love. But her betrothed is whisked away by kinsmen, and the humiliated Grazia is ruined--until fate throws her another chance in the guise of a second marriage proposal, this one from the powerful Judah del Medigo, scholar, physician, and adviser to popes and kings. Under his guardianship, Grazia flourishes as a scholar and scribe, eventually becoming the secretary to Isabella d'Este, where she reenters the world of courts and courtiers.

And that's just the beginning; Park blends scholarship, imagination, and a compelling heroine to serve up good, old-fashioned literary stew, thick with the irresistible details of place, plottings, and passions.

About the Author

Jacqueline Park is the founding chairman of the Dramatic Writing Program and professor emerita at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She lives in Toronto.

Edition details

• Publisher: House of Anansi Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1770898891
• ISBN 13: 9781770898899
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 752