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The Orphan Of Florence
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Book Synopsis The Orphan of Florence by : Jeanne Kalogridis
Download or read book The Orphan of Florence written by Jeanne Kalogridis and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Giulia has been an orphan all her life. Raised in Florence's famous Ospedale degli Innocenti, her probing questions and insubordinate behavior made her an unwelcome presence, and at the age of fifteen, she was given an awful choice: become a nun, or be married off to a man she didn't love. She chose neither, and after refusing an elderly suitor, Giulia escaped onto the streets of Florence. Now, after spending two years as a successful pickpocket, an old man catches her about to make off with his purse, and rather than having her carted off to prison he offers her a business proposition. The man claims to be a cabalist, a student of Jewish mysticism and ritual magic, who works for the most powerful families in Florence. But his identity is secret -- he is known only as "the Magician of Florence" -- and he is in need of an assistant. She accepts the job and begins smuggling his talismans throughout the city.
Book Synopsis Abandoned Children of the Italian Renaissance by : Nicholas Terpstra
Download or read book Abandoned Children of the Italian Renaissance written by Nicholas Terpstra and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early development of the modern Italian state, individual orphanages were a reflection of the intertwining of politics and charity. Nearly half of the children who lived in the cities of the late Italian Renaissance were under fifteen years of age. Grinding poverty, unstable families, and the death of a parent could make caring for these young children a burden. Many were abandoned, others orphaned. At a time when political rulers fashioned themselves as the "fathers" of society, these cast-off children presented a very immediate challenge and opportunity. In Bologna and Florence, government and private institutions pioneered orphanages to care for the growing number of homeless children. Nicholas Terpstra discusses the founding and management of these institutions, the procedures for placing children into them, the children's daily routine and education, and finally their departure from these homes. He explores the role of the city-state and considers why Bologna and Florence took different paths in operating the orphanages. Terpstra finds that Bologna's orphanages were better run, looked after the children more effectively, and were more successful in returning their wards to society as productive members of the city's economy. Florence's orphanages were larger and harsher, and made little attempt to reintegrate children into society. Based on extensive archival research and individual stories, Abandoned Children of the Italian Renaissance demonstrates how gender and class shaped individual orphanages in each city's network and how politics, charity, and economics intertwined in the development of the early modern state.
Book Synopsis The Scarlet Contessa by : Jeanne Kalogridis
Download or read book The Scarlet Contessa written by Jeanne Kalogridis and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-07-06 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What Philippa Gregory has done for Tudor England, Jeanne Kalogridis does for Renaissance Italy. Her latest irresistible historical novel is about a countess whose passion and willfulness knew no bounds—Caterina Sforza Daughter of the Duke of Milan and wife of the conniving Count Girolamo Riario, Caterina Sforza was the bravest warrior Renaissance Italy ever knew. She ruled her own lands, fought her own battles, and openly took lovers whenever she pleased. Her remarkable tale is told by her lady-in-waiting, Dea, a woman knowledgeable in reading the "triumph cards," the predecessor of modern-day Tarot. As Dea tries to unravel the truth about her husband's murder, Caterina single-handedly holds off invaders who would steal her title and lands. However, Dea's reading of the cards reveals that Caterina cannot withstand a third and final invader—none other than Cesare Borgia, son of the corrupt Pope Alexander VI, who has an old score to settle with Caterina. Trapped inside the Fortress at Ravaldino as Borgia's cannons pound the walls, Dea reviews Caterina's scandalous past and struggles to understand their joint destiny, while Caterina valiantly tries to fight off Borgia's unconquerable army.
Book Synopsis The Borgia Bride by : Jeanne Kalogridis
Download or read book The Borgia Bride written by Jeanne Kalogridis and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vivacious Sancha of Aragon arrives in Rome newly wed to a member of the notorious Borgia dynasty. Surrounded by the city's opulence and political corruption, she befriends her glamorous and deceitful sister-in-law, Lucrezia, whose jealousy is as legendary as her beauty. Some say Lucrezia has poisoned her rivals, particularly those to whom her handsome brother, Cesare, has given his heart. So when Sancha falls under Cesare's irresistible spell, she must hide her secret or lose her life. Caught in the Borgias' sinister web, she summons her courage and uses her cunning to outwit them at their own game. Vividly interweaving historical detail with fiction, The Borgia Bride is a richly compelling tale of conspiracy, sexual intrigue, loyalty, and drama.
Book Synopsis Florence and Giles by : John Harding
Download or read book Florence and Giles written by John Harding and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2011 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1891. In a remote and crumbling New England mansion, 12-year-old orphan Florence is neglected by her guardian uncle and banned from reading. Left to her own devices she devours books in secret and talks to herself - and narrates this, her story - in a unique language of her own invention.
Book Synopsis The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by : Mary Downing Hahn
Download or read book The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall written by Mary Downing Hahn and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2010 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Florence looks forward to a new life with her great uncle and aunt at an old manor house. But Florence doesn't expect the ghost of her cousin Sophia, who concocts a plan to use Florence to help her achieve her murderous goals.
Book Synopsis Alone in the World by : Catherine Reef
Download or read book Alone in the World written by Catherine Reef and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2005 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the almshouses of the 1800s to the foster home programs of the present, find out about our country's evolving attitudes toward its neediest children.
Book Synopsis Florence, the Parish Orphan by : Eliza Buckminster Lee
Download or read book Florence, the Parish Orphan written by Eliza Buckminster Lee and published by . This book was released on 1852 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Orphans of the Pacific by : Florence Horn
Download or read book Orphans of the Pacific written by Florence Horn and published by . This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence by : Alyssa Palombo
Download or read book The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence written by Alyssa Palombo and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2017-04-25 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the tradition of Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, Palombo has married fine art with romantic historical fiction in this lush and sensual interpretation of Medici Florence, artist Sandro Botticelli, and the muse that inspired them all." - Booklist A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle. Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence—most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici—become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus. Alyssa Palombo’s The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence vividly captures the dangerous allure of the artist and muse bond with candor and unforgettable passion.
Book Synopsis Saunterings in Florence by : Elvira Grifi
Download or read book Saunterings in Florence written by Elvira Grifi and published by . This book was released on 1896 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Public Life in Renaissance Florence by : Richard C. Trexler
Download or read book Public Life in Renaissance Florence written by Richard C. Trexler and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public life - Humanism - Civic humanism - Friendship - Ritual - Alberti - Women in Florence - Family - Everyday life in Florence.
Book Synopsis Catherine de Medici by : Leonie Frieda
Download or read book Catherine de Medici written by Leonie Frieda and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2022-01-11 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inspiration for the STARZ original series, The Serpent Queen, premiering September 11. “A beautifully written portrait of a ruthless, subtle and fearless woman fighting for survival and power in a world of gangsterish brutality, routine assassination and religious mania. . . . Frieda has brought a largely forgotten heroine-villainess and a whole sumptuously vicious era back to life. . . . This is The Godfather meets Elizabeth.” —Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar Poisoner, besotted mother, despot, necromancer, engineer of a massacre: the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen of France to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds. Based on comprehensive research including thousands of Catherine’s own letters, Frieda unfurls Catherine’s story from her troubled childhood in Florence to her tumultuous marriage to Henry II of France; her transformation of French culture to her reign as a queen who would use brutality to ensure her children’s royal birthright. Brilliantly executed, this enthralling biography goes beyond myth to paint a very human portrait of this remarkable figure.
Download or read book Immortal written by Traci L. Slatton and published by Delta. This book was released on 2008-01-29 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age of wonderous beauty and terrible secrets, one man searches for his destiny... In the majestic heart of Florence, a beautiful golden-haired boy is abandoned and subjected to cruelty beyond words. But Luca Bastardo is anything but an ordinary boy. Across two centuries of passion and intrigue, Luca will discover an astonishing gift—one that will lead him to embrace the ancient mysteries of alchemy and healing and to become a trusted confidant to the powerful Medicis…even as he faces persecution from a sadistic cabal determined to wrest his secrets for themselves. But as the Black Death and the Inquisition wreak havoc on his beloved city, Luca’s survival lies in the quest to solve two riddles. One is the enigma of his parents and his ageless beauty. The other is a choice between immortality and the only chance to find his one true love. As Luca journeys through the heights of the Renaissance, befriends Giotto and Leonardo Da Vinci—140 years apart—and pursues the most closely guarded secrets of religious faith and science for the answers to his own burning questions, his remarkable search will not only change him…but will change the course of history.
Book Synopsis The Devil's Queen by : Jeanne Kalogridis
Download or read book The Devil's Queen written by Jeanne Kalogridis and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2009-07-21 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of I, Mona Lisa and The Borgia Bride, comes a new novel that tells the passionate story of a queen who loved not wisely . . . but all too well. Confidante of Nostradamus, scheming mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots, and architect of the bloody St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history. In her latest historical fiction, Jeanne Kalogridis tells Catherine's story—that of a tender young girl, destined to be a pawn in Machiavellian games. Born into one of Florence's most powerful families, Catherine was soon left a fabulously rich heiress by the early deaths of her parents. Violent conflict rent the city state and she found herself imprisoned and threatened by her family's enemies before finally being released and married off to the handsome Prince Henry of France. Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the gorgeous, conniving Diane de Poitiers, and unable to bear children, Catherine resorted to the dark arts of sorcery to win Henry's love and enhance her fertility—for which she would pay a price. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's blood-soaked visions of the future, Kalogridis reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband, Henry, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.
Book Synopsis The Birth of Venus by : Sarah Dunant
Download or read book The Birth of Venus written by Sarah Dunant and published by Random House. This book was released on 2004-11-30 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the Renaissance, with a precocious mind and a talent for drawing, Alessandra is intoxicated by the painter’s abilities. But their burgeoning relationship is interrupted when Alessandra’s parents arrange her marriage to a wealthy, much older man. Meanwhile, Florence is changing, increasingly subject to the growing suppression imposed by the fundamentalist monk Savonarola, who is seizing religious and political control. Alessandra and her native city are caught between the Medici state, with its love of luxury, learning, and dazzling art, and the hellfire preaching and increasing violence of Savonarola’s reactionary followers. Played out against this turbulent backdrop, Alessandra’s married life is a misery, except for the surprising freedom it allows her to pursue her powerful attraction to the young painter and his art. The Birth of Venus is a tour de force, the first historical novel from one of Britain’s most innovative writers of literary suspense. It brings alive the history of Florence at its most dramatic period, telling a compulsively absorbing story of love, art, religion, and power through the passionate voice of Alessandra, a heroine with the same vibrancy of spirit as her beloved city.
Book Synopsis Covenant with the Vampire by : Jeanne Kalogridis
Download or read book Covenant with the Vampire written by Jeanne Kalogridis and published by Dell. This book was released on 1995-09-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sensual, terrifying, incredibly accomplished first novel, this fascinating prequel to the classic and most popular horror novel of all time, Dracula, focuses on Dracula's great-nephew, who inherits the job of managing his great-uncle's estate...and his appetite. Written in diary form as Dracula is, this compulsively readable book has revelations that will shock and delight readers of the original. More erotic than Anne Rice, Kalogridis is a major new voice in vampire fiction. The first chilling tale in an exciting new trilogy is a rich and terrifying historical novel set fifty years before the opening of Bram Stoker's Dracula. At the castle of Prince Vlad Tsepesh, also known as Dracula, Vald's great-nephew Arkady is honored to care for his beloved though strange great-uncle...until he beings to realize what is expected of him in his new role. It seems that either he provides his great-uncle with unsuspecting victims to satisfy his needs, or Vlad will kill those Arkady loves. He is trapped into becoming party to murder and sadistic torture. And it is in his blood. When Arkady learns that his newborn son is being groomed one day to follow in his footsteps, he knows that he must fight Dracula, even if it means death.