History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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...

Da Vinci’s Tiger Author: L. M. Elliott Genre: YA, Historical Fiction,  Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books Release Date: 2015 Pages:  305 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: For fans of rich and complex historical novels like Girl with a Pearl Earring or Code Name Verity , Laura Malone Elliott delivers the stunning tale of real-life Renaissance woman Ginevra de' Benci, the inspiration for one of Leonardo da Vinci's earliest masterpieces.       The young and beautiful daughter of a wealthy family, Ginevra longs to share her poetry and participate in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence but is trapped in an arranged marriage in a society dictated by men. The arrival of the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers. Bembo chooses Ginevra as his Platonic muse and commissions a portrait of her by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter i...

Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered Author: Dianne Hales Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History Publisher: Simon & Schuster Release Date: 2014 Pages: 336 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Everybody knows her smile, but no one knows her story: Meet the woman who became the most recognized artistic subject of all time--Mona Lisa.       Florence’s Most Famous Daughter is virtually invisible in her own hometown. No plaques commemorate where she lived; no monuments or streets bear her name. Yet a genius immortalized her. A French king paid a fortune for her. An emperor coveted her. Hers was the city that thrills us still, home to larger-than-legend figures such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli. But all that remains of Lisa is her smile.      Intrigued by new findings confirming the identity of Leonardo's model, Dianne Hales began a personal quest to unearth the story of Mona Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo. She combed archives for fragile r...

I, Mona Lisa: A Novel Author: Jeanne Kalogridis Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release Date: 2006 Pages: 544 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: "My name is Lisa di Antonio Gherardini Giocondo, though to acquaintances, I am known simply as Madonna Lisa.  My story begins not with my birth but a murder, committed the year before I was born."     Florence, April 1478: The handsome Giuliano de' Medici is brutally assassinated in Florence's magnificent Duomo. The shock of the murder ripples throughout the great city, from the most renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to a wealthy wool merchant and his extraordinarily beautiful daughter, Madonna Lisa.      More than a decade later, Florence falls under the dark spell of the preacher Savonarola, a fanatic who burns paintings and books as easily as he sends men to their deaths.  Lisa, now grown into an alluring woman, captures the heart of Giuliano'...