After her husband leaves her for an older woman, Nora
Manin, pregnant with his child, decides to move to Venice
to try her hand at glassblowing. She wants to follow in the
footsteps of her 17th-century ancestor Corradino Manin,
recognized as the best glass artisan the island of Murano
has ever known.
Leonora, as she calls herself in Venice, obtains an
apprentice position in the very furnace in which Corradino
worked and receives a warm enough welcome, until she
rebuffs the advances of Roberto del Piero and mentions
Corradino to him. Roberto's ancestor Giacomo, foreman of
the furnace in Corradino's time, took him under his wing
and thought of him as a son. Although a top glassmaker,
Roberto says he has evidence that Corradino turned traitor
and sold glassmaking secrets to the French, an act
punishable by death. Nora believed he had died of mercury
poisoning on Murano.
The Council of Ten, the ruling body of Venice, or the
Republic of Venice as it was known in the 17th century,
took its secrets seriously. Venice wore a veneer of beauty
and artifice that deftly hid much of the treachery and
duplicity underneath. The Council kept its glassblowers as
virtual prisoners on Murano. Corradino's expertise gained
him more freedom than others to visit clients, but he never
left the island without followers. The repercussions might
not bode well for her job or Corradino's reputation, but
Leonora vows to determine the truth about Corradino.
Included is a romantic subplot as Leonora falls for a
Venetian policeman whose ex-girlfriend, a beautiful and
ambitious journalist has just returned to Venice and plans
to rekindle her past relationship.
Present and past intertwine in this debut novel from
Marina Fiorato, a mélange of history, politics,
mystery and romance. She balances the two simultaneous
storylines well, alternating chapters to keep the reader's
interest. Born in Venice, it's clear Fiorato knows the city
and its history and politics, although I would have liked
to know even more about the workings of The Council of The
Ten. Fiorato handles the mystery well, not giving too much
away too soon, and offers many tidbits to the reader along
the way. Fiorato has a talent for language, offering word
pictures that evoke the beauty of what they describe. I
felt the ending wrapped up a little too neatly, but this
doesn't distract from the overall excellence of the novel.
I look forward to reading other books by Fiorato, including
THE MADONNA OF THE ALMONDS.
Venice, 1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of
the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than
gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten,
the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on
their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the
artists, Corradino Manin, sells his methods and his soul
to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, to protect his
secret daughter.
In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an
unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower
in Venice. As she finds new life and love in her
adoptive city, her fate becomes inextricably linked with
that of her ancestor and the treacherous secrets of his
life begin to come to light.
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