History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

The Last Masterpiece: A Novel of World War II Italy Author: Laura Morelli Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Publishing  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 404 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In a race across Nazi-occupied Italy, two women—a German photographer and an American stenographer—hunt for priceless masterpieces looted from the Florentine art collections.       In the summer of 1943, Eva Brunner is taking photographs of Nazi-looted art hidden in the salt mines of the Austrian hinterland. Across the ocean in Connecticut, Josephine Evans is working as a humble typist at the Yale Art Gallery. When both women are called to Italy to contribute to the war effort, neither imagines she will hold the fate of some of the world’s greatest masterpieces torn from the Uffizi Galleries and other Florentine art collections in her hands. But as Italy turns from ally to enemy and Hitler’s plan to destroy irreplace...

The Stolen Lady: A Novel of WWII and the Mona Lisa Author: Laura Morelli Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Release: 2021 Pages: 477 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: From the acclaimed author of The Night Portrait comes a stunning historical novel about two women, separated by five hundred years, who each hide Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—with unintended consequences.         France, 1939       At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a young archivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing. While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Paris and German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Nazis will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre’s art collection. Anne is quickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre’s most precious artworks—including the Mona Lisa—are being tr...

The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice Author: Laura Morelli Category: Adult Fiction, 482 pages Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: The Scriptorium Release date: November 15, 2017 Tour dates: Oct 16 to Nov 17, 2017 Content Rating: PG-13 (some adult situations but no sex or explicit violence) Book Description:      Would you rather sacrifice your livelihood, your lover, or your life? When the Black Death comes knocking on your door, you’d better decide quickly.      Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father’s legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she’s ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter.      When the painter’s servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away, they threaten to reveal a secret that could tear down her family and the future of their trade. She is forced to bu...