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Loading... The Secret Book of Grazia dei Rossi (1998)by Jacqueline Park
1   weikelm | Jun 13, 2011 |  A historical novel of the Rennaissance and a promenent Jewish family. Held my interest. (  ) SignoraEdie | Jan 25, 2009 | Women--Italy--Fiction.  icm | Oct 3, 2008 | I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to identify with the narrator Grazia dei Rossi—headstrong, passionate, independent, valuing knowledge and true love above social mores at a time where liberty of expression could be punishable by torture and death. The research for this book was obviously extensive and it was interesting to learn more about the politics and religion of the late XIVth and early XVth centuries. And then of course the love story; the common thread that holds it all together and is responsible for our heroines' doing and undoing. Reading this book within a book provided me the extra thrill of having the impression of peeking into someone else’s correspondence, which in this case takes the form of a mother creating a legacy for her son. Worth savoring. (  )1 Smiler69 | Aug 16, 2008 | This is a fabulous book if you love the Italian rennaissance era, and all the political and religous intrigue that it brings. Grazia is an incredibly intelligent and scholarly heroine - quite unusual for the time and I loved the way this book fully explores and expands on her scholarly pursuits. I had recently read Tobsha Learner's the Witch of Cologne and initially I was tempted to constantly compare the two. I did find this book a better read, as I became turned off by the W.O.C.'s focus on the more "passionate" aspects of the book which I didn't think added to the story. That being said, I would definitely recommend this book to historical fiction fans and even those who aren't! ( ) miranda_d | Dec 20, 2006 | no reviews | add a review
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Wikipedia in English
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For example, Grazia's younger brother is the head of a household of poor relations. For some reason Grazia, who owns two estates, moves in and starts fighting with the other women, including a physical fight with a recent widow. Her brother takes her aside and tells her that it would be best if the two of them didn't share a roof. She agrees entirely, but feels bad since the girl has no money and will be forced to live in the street. No, the brother says, it's YOU who needs to go. She's mystified as to why she'd have to go, when clearly she's the smart one, but then it dawns on her that she might be too smart and her brother worries that he might not be regarded as the head of the household with his brilliant sister around. Sure enough, as soon as she's gone, he takes charge and the house is filled with peace and joy...
The book is filled with such laugh out loud moments that I'm not sure were intended as humor. (