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The Botticelli Secret

Marina Fiorato     Availability: Available
Format: Paperback - C format
Pages: 576
AUD $32.99 inc. GST
The Botticelli Secret

More about this author

A young woman in 15th-century Italy must flee for her life after stumbling upon a deadly secret when she serves as a model for Botticelli in a rip-roaring novel that blends enticing mystery, historical intrigue and romantic adventure.

Description

Gloriously fresh and vivid, with a deliciously irreverent heroine, The Botticelli Secret is a masterful concoction of enticing mystery, historical intrigue and romantic adventure. Resplendent fifteenth-century Italy is seen through the eyes of the gorgeous Luciana Vetra, part-time model and full-time prostitute.
After a request from one of her most exalted clients to pose for a painter friend, Luciana agrees to model for the central figure of Flora in Botticelli's masterpiece 'Primavera' But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting - only to find that friends and clients are slaughtered around her in an attempt to get it back. So Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice monk Brother Guido Della Torre, to discover what could be so valuable about the painting. Fleeing Florence together, Luciana and Guido race through the seven cities of Renaissance Italy pursued by ruthless enemies who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting's secrets.

About Marina Fiorato

Marina Fiorato is the author of The Glassblower of Murano and The Madonna of the Almonds. Her novels have been published in over 14 countries around the world. She lives in Hampstead, London, with her husband and two children.

ISBN: 9781742374352
Australian Pub.: August 2010
Edition: 1
Publisher: ALLEN & UNWIN
Imprint: ALLEN & UNWIN
Subject: Historical fiction
Edition Number: 1

Reader reviews

'Though it is fiction there is an authenticity that sucks one in totally. Clearly Marina Fiorato knows her stuff. It’s a big novel, but there’s no padding in this enjoyable story; every page is relevant.

For me it was more enthralling and better crafted than the Da Vinci Code.' - K. Hart, VIC

'The monk and the whore: that juxtaposition alone is enough to attract intrigued readers. But what follows is a 15th century Da Vinci Code book - a huge romp through Italian Renaissance history decoding symbols, carvings, maps, botany, power, politics, religion, even fashionable clothing, and - above all - Botticelli's beautiful painting Primavera, along with its startling 'secret message'. ... Based on Italian academic Enrico Guidoni’s new theory about the hidden message of Botticelli's painting, Fiorato's book is a fascinating read from beginning to end.' - M. Yock, NSW

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