Reviews

This book is the story of Giulia, an orphan, a virgin, in 1584 Venice, chosen to test the virility of The Prince of Mantua prior to his marriage to Eleanor de Medici.

Based on historical events with fictional imaginings to fill the gaps, the writing brings to life a period of history that is made for historical fiction, but one that hasn’t featured in any of the books I’ve read. Mezzacappa built a character led novel, with the period reflected more in the feelings and behaviours of those living in it rather than relying on descriptions of the settings.

Told largely from the perspective of Giulia, as we follow her through this experience and through her life that follows…whilst the initial subject matter is unpleasant, it is sensitively written (although I felt it a little unnecessarily graphic at times). It delicately conveys the fear, the sadness, the trauma, and the hope that Giulia carries with her throughout the novel.

The characters were brilliantly and vividly imagined, the hateful characters as much as those you take to your heart. I adored the sections from Giulianos perspective, these were perhaps the highlight of the novel for me and both his character and sections of the novel gave the perfect contrast and balance and made for a beautifully and intelligently written novel.

Thank you so much to Fairlight Books for an advanced proof of this book, I loved reading it and highly recommend!!!

historic_chronicles's review

Go to review page

challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It is Florence, 1584 and rumours are circulating wildly about the Prince of Mantua's virility as he attempts to marry into the infamous Medici family. A young and pleasing orphan, Giulia is selected to end the rumours surrounding the prince once and for all in return to gain her own freedom, a substantial dowry and a husband of her own. Having lived sheltered away in a cloister since a young age, Giulia reluctantly agrees, only to be taken under stifling control of the Medici's Minister Vinta in her naivety.

Years pass and her side of the bargain is complete, Giulia is living in peaceful obscurity when a threat from her past arrives to disrupt her family, encouraging her to tell the truth of the events in Florence once and for all.

Based on historical events, this novel flows with tension and intrigue from the very first page. With a diverse cast of characters, Mezzacappa skillfully intertwines the lives of those who are fictional with those who were living and breathing during this vibrant period of time.

The author's narrative highlights the authenticity of the research carried out, which only adds to the horror and passion of the events that occur to the lead character, Giulia, who is herself also beautifully written.

While set in an idyllic location of renaissance Italy, Mezzacappa does not shy away from the heavy themes featured in this novel including the consequences of a patriarchal society, and finding the inner strength to overcome insidious influences.

This is sure to please the historical fiction fan.

My greatest thanks to @rachelsrandomresources who invited me onto the tour for this novel, and to @fairlightbooks who provided the beautiful proof copy.

charlottereadshistory's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Maiden of Florence tells the story of Giulia, plucked from an orphanage in Florence to be used as an experiment to prove or disprove the virility of a prince marrying into the Medici family, and her subsequent life.

I was worried this would be a book that was very upsetting to read given the subject matter, and I would definitely urge anyone who needs to heed any trigger warnings regarding sexual assault to give this book a miss.

However if that's something you can deal with, there is also so much more to this story. I found myself rooting for Giulia and enjoyed hating the despicable minister Vinta, and the tension that his consistent presence in her life brought had me turning the pages long after I had other things to do.

Mezzacappa quite clearly sets out the myriad ways women were subjugated by the patriarchy at the time, and how so many women's lives were completely beholden to more powerful men, and one just had to hope they were moral and upstanding. In that vein, without giving anything away, Giulio was a standout character for me, I loved him.

It was easy to get lost in Florence, Mantua and Venice and I really enjoyed the scene setting and felt how important Giulia's faith was to processing and finding solace in her life, as did the other female characters, in what seems to be a very difficult time to be a woman.

Thanks to the publisher for this advanced readers copy of this book for review - all opinions are my own.

Content Warnings

mhague's review

Go to review page

4.5

Wow wow wow, this was incredible! I learned so much in this book, without it being overwhelming or too complicated. The time of the Medici's has always been so interesting to me, so to see things from this angle was refreshing. I did have to do a bit of a wiki spiral to get all of my ducks in a row, but I was really glad of it. I'm a sucker for historical fiction that isn't about the First or Second World Wars so this was just amazing.

My only qualm is whether Giulia was a real person or not? I know the other key players were, as little as I could find on them but for Giulia I'm not sure. For her to have been an unrecongized orphan, it unlikely that she was Giulia de' Medici (the illegitimate but recognized daughter or Alessandro de' Medici). Plus the timelines in this book don't align with her (b. 1535, d. 1588).

The author did an amazing job in terms of the writing. I felt all the feelings when reading Giulia's passages, and was so happy when we were given those of Giuliano! I honestly have so much praise for this book, it totally got me out of my reading slump and was just so interesting!! I'll absolutely grab a print copy once published (also helps that the cover is stunning!), and I look forward to any other books the author may bring out.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for this ARC!

nfuscaldo7's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

4.75

More...