The Italian Garden
An irresistible novel of passion, intrigue and bitter rivalry
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Striking out on her own path of independence, what will she leave in her wake?
Set amid the wealth and beauty of sixteenth-century Europe, Judith Lennox's novel, The Italian Garden, transports her readers to a tempestuous world of love and betrayal. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore and Dinah Jefferies.
The du Chantonnay estate of Marigny on the Loire consumes the desires of two powerful men - bitter, worldly-wise Guillaume du Chantonnay, and ruthless Hamon de Bohun - who will stop at nothing to possess it. Toby Crow, a young soldier of fortune, is also drawn to Marigny, for his mysterious origins are somehow bound up with the chateau.
Italy's most priceless beauty, exotic Joanna Zulian, would crown Marigny's perfection. But Joanna, bred a vagabond and newly escaped from a stifling marriage to the artist Gaetano, vows never again to be possessed by any man, nor obey any laws but her own. With the help of the adoring English doctor Martin and a reluctant Toby, Joanna forges her own path through war-ravaged Europe.
And when Joanna comes at last to Marigny, it is to weave the whole intricate tale of the de Bohuns, the du Chantonnays, and her own colourful life into the Italian garden she designs. It will be her own legacy, a legacy fraught with danger...
What readers are saying about The Italian Garden:
'I loved the time period, the colourful background of Venice... the development of the characters and the twists in the plot. Great writing'
'Another wonderful story of power and greed, but always with the thread of passion'
'Thoroughly absorbing read, was gripped throughout'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Subtly feminist and quite literate, this historical romance follows the entwined 16th-century lives of artistic, independent beauty Joanna Zulian and haunted, ambitious mercenary Toby Crow. After her mother dies, young, half-wild Joanna is left with her father's brother, a proper Venetian artist. Though she becomes a talented painter in her own right, she is thwarted by her gender. Her looks prove both boon and bane, dragging her into ever-higher social circles and attracting men who will see in her variously a muse, lover, pawn and obsession. Joanna later memorializes their emotions in the eponymous garden, which she divides into four squares planted with flowers appropriate to jealous, passionate, tender and obsessive love. Toby tries to escape his tormented past by becoming a soldier of fortune, but only Joanna's re-entry into his life and a surprising discovery about his birth can finally exorcise his demons. Lennox ( Till the Day Goes Down ) has a fine sense for the details of daily Renaissance life and its political, psychological and philosophical underpinnings; she also develops and employs secondary characters with admirable skill. A cut above the genre norm, this is a good choice for readers with better-than-average taste.
