Product Description

Venice, 1556: a wealthy, bustling, multi-cultural city, with a standard of living four times that of anywhere else in Europe. Into this exciting world comes twenty-year-old English protestant Richard Stocker, recovering from the execution of his friend Lady Jane Grey (a friendship recounted in Edward Charles’s debut novel In the Shadow of Lady Jane.)

Soon Richard finds himself caught up in the complexities of La Serenissima, and involved with three of the city’s most remarkable women: Faustina Contarini, a nun imprisoned in a convent by her noble family; Yasmeen Ahmed, Muslim clerk and book-keeper to the great artist Tintoretto; and Veronica Franco, artists’ model, courtesan and poet. Each has her own story to tell, but they have one thing in common: they are all daughters of the Doge, held captive by the contradictory laws and regulations of this teeming city.

This is a thrilling account of a young man’s transformation, as he discovers love, faith and deception in a colourfully evoked Renaissance Venice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #134883 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 236 pages

From the Back Cover

‘You will learn,’ said Veronica. ‘The Republic of La Serenissima is a much more sophisticated place than your London. A common prostitute is paid in hard cash; but a courtesan finds her reward in the relationship itself. It’s much nicer, don’t you think?’

Venice, 1556. Into this thriving but divided city comes young English protestant Richard Stocker, escaping the persecutions of his homeland and reeling from the execution of his friend Lady Jane Grey.

Soon Richard finds himself caught up in Venice’s complex political life, and involved with three of the city’s most remarkable women: Faustina Contarini, a nun imprisoned in a convent by her noble family; Yasmeen Ahmed, Muslim book-keeper to the great artist Tintoretto; and Veronica Franco, painters’ model, poet and courtesan. Each has her own story, and each her own secrets, but they have one thing in common: they are all daughters of the Doge, held captive by the contradictory laws and regulations of this teeming metropolis.

Edward Charles has written an enthralling account of a young man’s coming of age as he discovers love, faith and intrigue in a vibrantly evoked Renaissance Venice.

About the Author

Edward Charles is an economist with a finance PhD from Manchester Business School. He has been a university lecturer and a City and international businessman and has published widely in his specialist subjects. He currently lives in Devon where he writes, paints, and tends his vineyard.

Customer Reviews

Richard Stoker comes of age
This is a sequel to In the shadow of Lady Jane. In this book Richard truly comes of age. He ends up maturing, getting married and finally deciding on his career. All this takes place through a journey across Europe to Venice and all that befalls him there. I have read many books on Venice, one of my passions, see below, and it is rare that I learn anything new but in this novel I did. It was absolutely fascinating, from the art of painting to the treatment of the Daughters of the Doge, I was not disappointed and thoroughly engrossed.

I can say that as Richard matures, so does his character and I really thought this was a real skill of Edward's to take us along with this rather prigish young man into early adulthood at such a fascinating time in history. I sincerely hope that this is going to turn into a series................

How not to write a historical novel
I so wanted to love this book but sadly just couldn't. Set in 1550s Venice with the rather wonderful Veronica Franco as one of the main characters I was all set to be enthralled,but this book failed me badly.

Richard Stocker, 20, ex-friend of the now executed Lady Jane Grey, and a fervent protestant under Mary I, leaves England in the retinue of Edward Courtenay and travels to Venice. There he meets a young Francis Walsingham and gets involved with three very different women: a nun, a muslim accountant (!) and the said Veronica Franco, courtesan, artists' model and writer.

This is a second novel but could be the ideal example of how not to write a historical novel. Everyone has a C21st century sensibility, and spend most of their time spouting expositions to each other from the books the author read as research. So one character explains to another the way currency works, the difference between a prostitute and a courtesan, the royal history of England, the history of Venice etc etc. The first person narrator talks about his own religious tolerance (in the midst of the European reformation?), and self-consciously describes the renascita (renaissance) that they are living through, a term not actually in use at the time. Equally he is appalled at the social hierarchies of the world he lives in, wants everyone to be equal: men and women, rich and poor, all religions, all faiths... and goes on to prove his political correctness by marry a muslim girl. Fine for 2009, but just look at the way Desdemona's marriage to Othello was treated in Shakespeare, and that was at least 50 years later.

Everything about this novel was obvious, predictable and really rather trite: the narrator talks about himself 'shivering' with fear or disgust or anger. Not sure about you but I've never seen anyone shiver with anything other than cold, but it's a common trope used by lazy writers and is all this book.

Books are always subjective experiences but this is a very mediocre novel in my experience, not bad, just very, very average. Not a recommendation.

Historical non-drama
Richard Stocker is a young English protestant. Unfortunately for him though, Catholic Queen Mary sits on the English throne and tensions are high between the religions. Richard's position is more precarious than most given the fact that he had been a companion to Lady Jane Gray, who had been executed by Queen Mary. All this is recounted in the first Richard Stocker novel, In the Shadow of Lady Jane, but rest assured, you do not have to have read the first novel to understand the events in this second novel.

Richard is unsure of his path in life, but fate offers him a chance to travel to Italy, more specifically Venice. He has a strong interest in medicine and being accepted to study at Padua University is a possibility. But while in Venice, he discovers a talent for art and drawing in the studio of the great artist Tintoretto. He also meets three remarkable, and beautiful women who all play their part in the development of his life. There is the stunning and calculating courtesan Veronica Franco who teaches him about the subtle undercurrents of Venetian life, the demure and intelligent Yasmeen, a Muslim who captures his heart and finally, captive nun Faustina. Together, these women represent the diversity of Venice and are the Daughters of the Doge.

It's a weird coincidence that I've just finished Sarah Dunant's amazing novel Sacred Hearts, also set in the world of Renaissance convents. Unfortunately though, this novel fails to reach the same heights as Dunant's book. It is somewhat repetitive and predictable with rather flat characters. The author does take the rather 21st century concept of not knowing your path in life and applies it to a character in the 16th century, but ultimately Charles fails to bring the main character to life.