Book Description
A secret diary. A forbidden love. A centuries old mystery to solve.
When a rare sixteenth-century manuscript lands on her desk courtesy of William, a struggling painter, shy book restorer Rose makes a startling discovery: it is a palimpsest. Beneath the text is a different document, one that's been written over. What they discover is the secret diary of William's ancestor, Giovanni Lomazzo, a Venetian painter who has just been commissioned by Venice's most powerful admiral to paint a portrait of his favourite courtesan... it is a diary of forbidden love, dangerous political plots, and secrets that could destroy everyone involved.
Together, Rose and William work to solve the mystery of what happened to the secret lovers. As feelings develop between Rose and William, their own experience begins to mirror the affair that they're uncovering, and each set of lovers is forced to confront the reality of their romance.
A richly detailed and sweeping page-turner, Margaux's sumptuous portrait of late Renaissance Italy will have you falling headlong into history, slipping in and out of the shadows along the canals of Venice.
Review
I will start by saying this isn't the normal type of genre that I would chose to read. However, it was chosen for a book club I have started and being an eclectic reader I thought I would give it a go. I must admit it took me a while to get into as I was very confused about what was happening where until I realised each chapter alternated between present day and the 1570's. Once I had worked this out it became more enjoyable. I enjoyed reading the present day storyline more than the 1570's but I did also enjoy the historical aspect and the authors notes at the end were also quite intriguing. The book was well written and focuses on 2 forbidden romances, one in present day between a married artist William and a single book shop owner Rose and the other between Giovanna an artist and Chiara a courtesan. Giovanna's forbidden love becomes mirrored by Rose's and the storylines intertwine perfectly. The characters were well defined and realistic. I was invested in Rose, Giovanna and Chiara but thoroughly disliked William after he treated Rose. There was also a bombshell dropped in which was surprising and unexpected. Overall an intriguing historical romance that I would give a rating of 4/5.
About The Author
Margaux DeRoux lives in San Francisco, where she worked as a consultant for startups and companies like Google and LinkedIn. She has studied art history and comes from a family of artists. The Lost Diary of Venice is her first novel.
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