Skip to main content

The Towers of Tuscany by Carol M. Cram: A Book Review

The Towers of Tuscany
Author: Carol M. Cram
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: New Arcadia Publishing
Release Date: 2014
Pages: 388
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Set amid the twisting streets and sunlit piazzas of medieval Italy, The Towers of Tuscany tells the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter’s workshop.

     Trained in secret by her father to create the beautifully-crafted panels and altarpieces acclaimed today as masterpieces of late medieval art, Sofia’s desire for freedom from her father’s workshop leads her to betray her passion and sink into a life of loveless drudgery with a husband who comes to despise her when she does not produce a son.

     In an attack motivated by vendetta, Sofia’s father is crushed by his own fresco, compelling Sofia to act or risk the death of her soul. The choice she makes takes her on a journey from misery to the heights of passion—both as a painter and as a woman. Sofia escapes to Siena where, disguised as a boy, she paints again. When her work attracts the notice of a nobleman who discovers the woman under the dirty smock, Sofia is faced with a choice that nearly destroys her.

     The Towers of Tuscany unites a strong heroine with meticulously researched settings and compelling characters drawn from the rich tapestry of medieval Italy during one of Europe's most turbulent centuries. The stylishly written plot is packed with enough twists and turns to keep readers up long past their bedtimes.

     My review: Towers of Tuscany tells the story of Sofia, an aspiring artist, who is trapped in society and marriage to her dimwitted husband. After her husband becomes involved in an assassination plot of a wealthy nobleman at a wedding feast that killed many people including her father, Sofia decides to leave her husband and Tuscany. She disguises herself as a boy and travels to Siena in hopes to pursue her art. Her work attracts a nobleman, whom she falls in love with, and she ponders whether she should give up her masquerade.

     To be honest, I had a hard time reading this story. I liked the beginning when she bravely decides to leave her husband and disguises herself as a boy, but when she reaches Siena, Sofia makes poor choices that puts her to where she was in the beginning and worse. I honestly felt like I wasted my time reading this book because you hope that the plot gets better but it does not. And I really didn’t like the ending. I felt that the pointless epilogue which jumps to present day should have been left out.

     I didn’t really like Sofia. The only thing I liked about her was that she left her husband in Tuscany and disguised herself as a boy in Siena.  While the book was trying to show how hard it was for a woman to be herself in a patriarchal society, I didn’t really get that in the book. To me, the book was filled with a lot of what-ifs mostly based on Sofia’s decisions. I wondered if she married her husband's younger brother, who is smarter and adored and respected his wife instead or the man who loved and respected her later in the novel, would she have been happier? Instead, Sofia was shallow. She chose the handsome, selfish men that believed that a woman’s place in society is to produce sons and nothing more.

    Overall, this book is filled with romance, betrayal, and choices. It is about a woman looking to be herself. While I didn’t like the characters, I found the setting to be beautifully described. The book is very well-written. It is just that this book wasn’t for me. I recommend this book to anyone interested in art and medieval Italy.

Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interview with Melanie Karsak

Today, I have the pleasure of having an interview with Melanie Karsak! I have read and enjoyed her many series of books on some of history's more obscure or misunderstood women. Often, little is known about their true histories, either from not being recorded because of their gender and the unimportance given to women or else intentional character assassination. Mrs. Karsak seeks to bring light where much is shrouded in darkness. As a result, we are enriched by their lives and these fascinating women can speak to us through the centuries. In this interview, Mrs. Karsak talks about what drew her to these women and her writing pro cess! Thank you Mrs. Karsak! You have written books on Lady MacBeth, Hervor, Queen Boudica, Queen Cartimandua, and now Freydis. What drew you to write about these women? I like the unsung and maligned heroines. Hervor is a significant character in the Norse Hervarar Saga . In fact, there are two Hervors in that tale—grandmother and granddaughter. But

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn: A Book Review

The Rose Code Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: 2021 Pages: 635 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.        Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.       Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.       1947, London.        Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, disaster threatens. Osla, Mab and Beth are estranged,