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Loading... The Venetian Mask (original 1992; edition 1993)by Rosalind Laker
Work InformationThe Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker (1992)
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  BugsyBoog | Jun 7, 2012 |    This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ) suetara | Aug 8, 2011 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ) Irisheyz77 | Jan 2, 2010 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ) maryevans77 | Oct 4, 2009 |  ) ladybug74 | Mar 25, 2009 | no reviews | add a review
Enduring friendships and long-held vendettas come alive against the splendor and decadence of eighteenth-century Venice. In 1775 Venice--known to outsiders as "the brothel of Europe"--the tradition of mask-wearing has allowed adultery and debauchery to flourish. But Marietta and Elena, two friends at the Ospedale della Pietà, a world-famous orphanage and music school for girls, know little of that milieu--until they come of age. Elena is forced to wed the head of the Celano clan, a jealous, brutal man, while Marietta marries Domenico Torrisi, whose family vendetta with the Celanos is centuries old. Tradition dictates that the friends should never speak again, but their bond is too strong to break. As the French Revolution unsettles all of Europe, Elena's husband frames Domenico and he becomes a political prisoner. Marietta and Elena plot to save him, and the women discover that Venetian masks have noble purposes, too--but will their efforts put their own lives at risk? Embodying the glitter and the treachery of the city it portrays, The Venetian Mask will keep you turning pages long into the night. No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumRosalind Laker's book Venetian Mask was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.47)
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Wikipedia in English
1
Elena if forced to marry Marco’s evil brother, Filippo, and through strange twists of fate, Marietta marries Domenico Torrisi, sworn enemy of the Celanos. The family feud (like the Montagues and the Capulets) has been going on forever and no one knows how it started. Elena and Marietta still maintain their friendship, meeting at the home of Adrianna, who was once a Pieta girl, too.
The book started a little slow for me, but I did enjoy it once it got going. Marietta’s husband is wrongfully imprisoned by the Celanos, forfeiting all his palaces and goods. Marietta gets back on her feet, working in a mask shop and doing everything she can to get her husband free. Elena, knowing her evil husband is behind Domenico’s imprisonment, starts to search through all his belongings for proof. He then imprisons her in a secret room in the palace, putting an imposter in her place, letting her die slowly by starvation. Since faces are so often covered in Venice, he gets away with it for quite some time until Marietta makes a foray into the Celano palace to find out the truth.
The characters are pretty much either good or evil, but the story is interesting enough. There were times when things moved rather slowly, and other times when months would go by in a single paragraph, but the setting was well described.
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