The Virgins of Venice: A Novel

by Gina Buonaguro

Overview

In sixteenth-century Venice, one young noblewoman dares to resist the choices made for her

Venice in 1509 is on the brink of war. The displeasure of Pope Julius II is a continuing threat to the republic, as is the barely contained fighting in the countryside. Amid this turmoil, noblewoman Justina Soranzo, just sixteen, hopes to make a rare love marriage with her sweetheart, Luca Cicogna. Her hopes are dashed when her father decides her younger sister, Rosa, will marry in a strategic alliance and Justina will be sent to the San Zaccaria convent, in the tradition of aristocratic daughters. Lord Soranzo is not acting only to protect his family. It’s well known that he is in debt to both his trading partners and the most infamous courtesan in the city, La Diamante, and the pressure is closing in.

After arriving at the convent, Justina takes solace in her aunt Livia, one of the nuns, and in the growing knowledge that all is not strictly devout at San Zaccaria. Justina is shocked to discover how the women of the convent find their own freedom in what seems to her like a prison. But secrets and scandals breach the convent walls, and Justina learns there may be even worse fates for her than the veil, if La Diamante makes good on her threats.

Desperate to protect herself and the ones she loves, Justina turns to Luca for help. She finds she must trust her own heart to make the impossible decisions that may save or ruin them all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781443468398
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	369,233
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

GINA BUONAGURO is the co-author of The Wolves of St. Peters, Ciao Bella and The Sidewalk Artist, as well as several romance titles under the name Meadow Taylor. The Virgins of Venice is her first solo novel. She has a BA in English from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and earned an MA in English from the University of British Columbia while on a Fulbright Scholarship. Born in New Jersey, Gina Buonaguro lives in Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

Gina Buonaguro has cracked open the secret lives of nuns living behind stone walls in glorious, oppressive sixteenth-century Venice. Written with colourful conversation and finely researched details of a city threatened by war and floods (even then), the novel shows the bravery of women who dared to fight for the right to free their hearts and their minds.” — Lisa Rochon, bestselling author of Tuscan Daughter

“A gripping, textured, meticulously researched tale of women’s lives in the watery world of early sixteenth-century Venice, a place of beauty but also rigid social stratification. . . . We encounter a vivid array of women from various walks of life who struggle for survival, agency, and love, and who often risk everything to break out of society’s constraints and expectations that define them. Compelling, heart-wrenching. Unputdownable.” — Jeanette Lynes, bestselling author of The Apothecary's Garden

“A rich, intricately researched story of two sisters’ loves, losses, and courage, cast against the vividly drawn backdrop of sixteenth-century Venice. I flew through every page!” — Rebecca Netley, author of The Whistling

From the Publisher

Carlotta Brentan uses a mellifluous Italian cadence for this tale of two highborn yet impoverished sisters and their unexpected lives in 1509 Venice. The City of Canals is at war with Pope Julius II, under threat of excommunication. Naïve 13-year-old Rosa wants to join the San Zaccaria convent but is married off to an abusive aristocrat to bolster her family's fortunes. The story is told through the point of view of her sister, Justina, a self-confident 16-year-old who is in love with nouveau-riche Luca Cicogna, but she is given to the convent instead of Rosa. Brentan captures the suspense as Justina and Luca try to rescue Rosa from her in-laws' clutches and restore the Soranzo family's fortunes. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile

Carlotta Brentan uses a mellifluous Italian cadence for this tale of two highborn yet impoverished sisters and their unexpected lives in 1509 Venice. The City of Canals is at war with Pope Julius II, under threat of excommunication. Naïve 13-year-old Rosa wants to join the San Zaccaria convent but is married off to an abusive aristocrat to bolster her family's fortunes. The story is told through the point of view of her sister, Justina, a self-confident 16-year-old who is in love with nouveau-riche Luca Cicogna, but she is given to the convent instead of Rosa. Brentan captures the suspense as Justina and Luca try to rescue Rosa from her in-laws' clutches and restore the Soranzo family's fortunes. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2023 - AudioFile