Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
2.5 stars. I appreciated this book for focusing on a period of the Italian Late Renaissance/Mannerist period that I don't usually focus on, and for providing a great look at Pope Sixtus V's intense 5-year reign. A lot of primary sources from that period still exist, and it's appreciated that Herman sourced and used as many as possible to flesh out the book. This reads like a pop history novel, meant to be easily digestible while also emphasizing the drama (not like that's a stretch with Italian history!).
Where this book fell flat for me was the author's frequent and, frankly, gauche irreverence for the people she focuses on, as well as insertions of personal opinions that I didn't appreciate. In the last quarter of the book, a chapter actually opens with a paragraph trying to say that women don't suffer violence at the hands of men???????????? In what alternate universe???? I believe she was strictly speaking of violence in war, but even that doesn't track historically. That was a wildly ignorant statement to make and it just blew me away.
I think Herman now has come to realize that the realm of historical fiction is more her speed, and I'm glad she's sticking to it. After reading this book, I don't think writing history like Alison Weir is her strongest suit.
Where this book fell flat for me was the author's frequent and, frankly, gauche irreverence for the people she focuses on, as well as insertions of personal opinions that I didn't appreciate. In the last quarter of the book, a chapter actually opens with a paragraph trying to say that women don't suffer violence at the hands of men???????????? In what alternate universe???? I believe she was strictly speaking of violence in war, but even that doesn't track historically. That was a wildly ignorant statement to make and it just blew me away.
I think Herman now has come to realize that the realm of historical fiction is more her speed, and I'm glad she's sticking to it. After reading this book, I don't think writing history like Alison Weir is her strongest suit.
Wow what a read, what a story!
Ms. Herman's previous works provided me with many hours of entertainment and some learning so i knew I wouldn't be 100% disappointed if i picked this one up...and I'm very glad I did!
For sure the story and characters themselves are more than half the reason why this is a great read - Madness, Passion, Greed, Love, Religion, Power, Money and ultimately Life and Death populate these pages in the same of a ....ahem...juicy story frankly way better than any modern day soap opera, taking the reader on some time travelling to Rome and Italy mid 16th century.
Eleanor Herman here is the story teller of old picking up the people whose deeds guaranteed them a (in)famous spot in history and made them absolutely larger than life, and weaving together all known facts and some degree of speculation to make this an engaging book and a thoroughly fascinating read!
I highly recommend this one to fans of Ms. Herman's work and any history buffs out there that like their facts with just the right modern day interference to make the read flow seamlessly and the enjoyment even greater.
Happy Readings!!
Ms. Herman's previous works provided me with many hours of entertainment and some learning so i knew I wouldn't be 100% disappointed if i picked this one up...and I'm very glad I did!
For sure the story and characters themselves are more than half the reason why this is a great read - Madness, Passion, Greed, Love, Religion, Power, Money and ultimately Life and Death populate these pages in the same of a ....ahem...juicy story frankly way better than any modern day soap opera, taking the reader on some time travelling to Rome and Italy mid 16th century.
Eleanor Herman here is the story teller of old picking up the people whose deeds guaranteed them a (in)famous spot in history and made them absolutely larger than life, and weaving together all known facts and some degree of speculation to make this an engaging book and a thoroughly fascinating read!
I highly recommend this one to fans of Ms. Herman's work and any history buffs out there that like their facts with just the right modern day interference to make the read flow seamlessly and the enjoyment even greater.
Happy Readings!!
3/5⭐️
As some of you have noticed, I read a lot of historical fiction and biographies. From reading the synopsis on the back, I thought I was in for a historical fiction of a young, vain girl, Vittoria, who gets her husband murdered so she can become a duchess in 16th century Rome. Her murdered husband was the nephew of a cardinal, who was on track to becoming pope. Four years after the murder, he becomes pope, and inacts his revenge against the Duke and Vittoria. A historical fiction, it was not. It read like a 283 paged Wikipedia article, filled with such random information that had nothing to do with the main storyline. The only enjoyable part was learning about how lawless Rome was in this time.
As some of you have noticed, I read a lot of historical fiction and biographies. From reading the synopsis on the back, I thought I was in for a historical fiction of a young, vain girl, Vittoria, who gets her husband murdered so she can become a duchess in 16th century Rome. Her murdered husband was the nephew of a cardinal, who was on track to becoming pope. Four years after the murder, he becomes pope, and inacts his revenge against the Duke and Vittoria. A historical fiction, it was not. It read like a 283 paged Wikipedia article, filled with such random information that had nothing to do with the main storyline. The only enjoyable part was learning about how lawless Rome was in this time.
I really enjoyed this - Sixtus V is a fascinating person, and the people in his orbit are enough to fill several books. The author has a fantastic way with words, and the book is immensely readable. It follows on neatly from Caroline P Murphy's "[b:Murder of a Medici Princess|2477243|Murder of a Medici Princess|Caroline P. Murphy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1255829159s/2477243.jpg|2484440]": here is the truly awful Paulo Giordano Orsini again, but this time he gets his just desserts. The women in the story are less 'complete' than the men, due mainly (I suppose) to a lack of historical record of them, but Vittoria and Camilla have a full life here nonetheless. This is well worth a read.
Interesting time period that I hadn’t previously known anything about. Well written but at times annoying how much blame is put on a women considering the time period (by the author).
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Tof boek, een soort biografie snapshot over het latere leven van een minder bekende paus. Vol met de gebruikelijke moorden, affaires, intriges, en wraak die je in de pauselijke staten wel vaker zag in die tijd.
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
The UK publisher released an updated paperback version of this book last May, and they kindly sent me a copy in the mail for review. All opinions written here are my own and in no way compromised by receiving a free copy of the book.
I will keep this spoiler-free because I think it's a really interesting book about a small part of history very few people may have heard of before. I love history and historical fiction, especially about royals and authority figures like the Pope. This book follows a young woman, Vittoria Accoramboni who makes the bad decision to leave her kind and loving husband to become a duchess instead. This mistake leads to many forms of punishment and restraint, but along the way, we also learn a lot about Cardinal Montalto, who later becomes Pope Sixtus V. I had actually never heard of this Pope until reading this book, but you'd probably be surprised to learn that he had a large part in making Rome the way we see it today.
Read my full spoiler-free review here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/lets-talk-about-murder-in-the-garden-of-god-by-eleanor-herman-spoiler-free-review
I will keep this spoiler-free because I think it's a really interesting book about a small part of history very few people may have heard of before. I love history and historical fiction, especially about royals and authority figures like the Pope. This book follows a young woman, Vittoria Accoramboni who makes the bad decision to leave her kind and loving husband to become a duchess instead. This mistake leads to many forms of punishment and restraint, but along the way, we also learn a lot about Cardinal Montalto, who later becomes Pope Sixtus V. I had actually never heard of this Pope until reading this book, but you'd probably be surprised to learn that he had a large part in making Rome the way we see it today.
Read my full spoiler-free review here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/lets-talk-about-murder-in-the-garden-of-god-by-eleanor-herman-spoiler-free-review
Really interesting, engaging nonfiction. Takes a while for the juicy bits to kick off but it goes hard after that.