Sheer Magic! | The Master of Verona

The Elegance In This Voice... | The Master of Verona | David Blixt

books:


	• The Master of Verona David Blixt St. Martin's Griffin, 2008 - 592 pages average customer review:based on 34 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

The Feud "remembered"

It is said that the Hatfields and the McCoys had been fighting so long they forgot what the Sam Hill they were fighting about. The Montagues and Capulets finally get a memory jog (well, if only they could have read it) from David Blixt, who gives their story an injection of Italian history and a dose of Dante. It's a riveting imagining of what the cause of the warring families' conflict could have been.

Sheer Magic!

Rich, real characters to FANTASTICALLY-imagined landscapes to a true and heart-wrenching love story epic in its scope, and powerfully sound in its execution---- This book has got it ALL!!!

for more information click here

The Elegance In This Voice...

An eloquent, well-researched foray into a madness of medieval times. Dante has always been one of my favorites (when I use the correct side of my brain to read him), and his eldest is a sharply-drawn character here. Shades of Caesar and Shakespeare and even a little Chandler, I promise you. The classic family rivalry, the articulate nature of the storytelling, the sweeping background in Italy all provide a wonderful ride. This may sound a bit off-kilter to some, but I heartily believe the Bard would be proud. One of the most enjoyable reads I've had since the world was young.

for more information click here

An intelligent look at how it all could have happened.

When I first began this book, I thought I may have trouble keeping the characters and locations straight. However, within the first few pages, I was completely engrossed in the story and the lives of those portrayed. Blixt cleverly includes maps and a "cheat sheet" which describes the characters' relationships to one another, as well as which ones appear in history and in Shakespeare. The book is well-researched and the attention to detail makes it all the more interesting. I can't wait to read more!

So that's why they hate each other...

This book is like watching the play of Romeo and Juliet with DVD commentary. This supposition of the origin of literature's most famous feud is well paced, well thought out, and gripping. Delightful characters abound. I'm looking forward to the next installment. Read it, read it, read it.

for more information click here

The Master of Verona is a sweeping historical novel that takes place, primarily, in early 14th Century Verona. It is the story of Pietro Alaghieri - the eldest surving son of the poet Dante - who gets caught up in the sweep of history: the war between Padua and Verona; the rise of Verona's Captiano, Cangrande della Scala, Dante's increasing fame since the publication of The Inferno, an infernal plot against Cangrande's bastard son, and the rivalry of his two best friends over the affections of a girl, a rivalry that will severe a friendship, divide a city, and ultimately lead to the best-known tragic romance in history.
In 1312, the exiled poet Dante and his two sons, seventeen year old Pietro and fourteen year old Jacopo (?Poco?), travel to Verona at the invitation of Verona's leader, the legendary Franceso ?Cangrande? della Scalla. While there, a sneak attack on Vincenza, Verona's client city, leads Pietro into his first battle, into the confidences of the charaismatic Cangrande, and into a tight friendship with Mariotto (?Mari?) Montecchi and Antonio (?Antony?) Capuletti. But hidden forces are at work against Cangrande - a series of attempts against a male baby, named Francesco and adopted by Cangrande's sister, widely believed to be his bastard son and possible heir.
Based on historical figures and the stories that formed the basis for some of Shakespeare's greatest plays, The Master of Verona is a compelling novel of politics, friendship, and conspiracy that recalls the best of Bernard Cornwell and Dorothy Dunnett.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

hot