Juliet Capelletti dreams of marrying someone she loves,
but the reality of the arranged marriage planned for her
falls far short of the mark. Her father will partner with
Jacopo Strozzi, the youngest son of the second most
powerful family in Florence, to stabilize his business,
and as part of the agreement, Jacopo has requested
Juliet's hand. To say she finds him unappealing would be
an understatement. Juliet might have followed her parents'
wishes had she not met her soul mate at the engagement
ball of her best friend, Lucrezia Tornabuoni. Romeo
Monticecco made her skin tingle with just the touch of a
hand and shared her love of Dante Alighieri's poetry, but
their families had long been enemies because of a long ago
grudge.
While Romeo, with the help of others, is able to smooth
over the relationship between the two families for a
while, things inevitably go awry. I won't reveal more
details of the story for the readers unfamiliar with the
tale and to leave Maxwell's unique surprises in store for
those who know what comes next. Maxwell's characters are
older than those in the original which makes their actions
and love for each other more believable in my opinion.
Their shared passion for Alighieri's La Vita Nuova lends
credibility to the relationship as well. That said, I did
find the characters to be a bit flat, and in the cases
especially of Jacopo and Romeo to be too black or too
white with no gray. It's easy to hate someone who is evil
but more difficult when they're only sort of evil.
Maxwell brings pre-Renaissance Florence and its people to
life for the reader wit her descriptions of locations,
both in and out of the city, culture, food and business
matters. Fascinating too are that Lucrezia Tornabuoni was
a real character and influential Renaissance poet, and
while Jacopo himself is made up, the Strozzi family is
not. Her language goes overboard in a few places, but
overall it's an enjoyable story to read on one of these
upcoming sunny days. I'm looking forward to reading more
of Maxwell's work as I try never to judge an author by one
book alone.
"One of the queens of historical fiction" offers a new
take on the mesmerizing young woman and poetess who inspired
Shakespeare's most famous female character.
Before Juliet Capelletti lie two futures: a traditionally
loveless marriage to her father's business partner, or the
fulfillment of her poetic dreams, inspired by the great
Dante. Unlike her beloved friend Lucrezia, who looks forward
to her arranged marriage, Juliet has a wild, romantic
imagination that knows not the bounds of her great family's
stalwart keep.
The latter path is hers for the
taking when Juliet meets Romeo Monticecco, a soulful young
man seeking peace between their warring families. A dreamer
himself, Romeo is unstoppable, once he determines to capture
the heart of the remarkable woman foretold in his stars. The
breathless intrigue that ensues is the stuff of beloved
legend. But those familiar with Shakespeare's muse know only
half the story...
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