The Orphan of Florence: A Novel
Oct 2017 · St. Martin's Griffin
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330
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About this ebook
In this irresistible historical novel set in the turbulent world of the Medicis, a young woman finds herself driven from pick-pocketing to espionage when she meets a mysterious man.
Giulia has been an orphan all her life. Raised in Florence's famous Ospedale degli Innocenti, her probing questions and insubordinate behavior made her an unwelcome presence, and at the age of fifteen, she was given an awful choice: become a nun, or be married off to a man she didn't love. She chose neither, and after refusing an elderly suitor, Giulia escaped onto the streets of Florence.
Now, after spending two years as a successful pickpocket, an old man catches her about to make off with his purse, and rather than having her carted off to prison he offers her a business proposition. The man claims to be a cabalist, a student of Jewish mysticism and ritual magic, who works for the most powerful families in Florence. But his identity is secret—he is known only as "the Magician of Florence"—and he is in need of an assistant. She accepts the job and begins smuggling his talismans throughout the city.
But the talismans are not what they seem, and neither is the Magician. When Giulia's involvement with him ends with his murder, she's drawn into a treacherous web of espionage and deceit involving the forces of Rome, Naples, and a man known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Accused of the Magician's murder, Giulia is pursued by the handsome policeman Niccolo, Lorenzo's henchmen, and foreign spies, and in order to survive, she must not only solve the mystery of the mystery of the Magician's murder, but that of her own past.
Giulia has been an orphan all her life. Raised in Florence's famous Ospedale degli Innocenti, her probing questions and insubordinate behavior made her an unwelcome presence, and at the age of fifteen, she was given an awful choice: become a nun, or be married off to a man she didn't love. She chose neither, and after refusing an elderly suitor, Giulia escaped onto the streets of Florence.
Now, after spending two years as a successful pickpocket, an old man catches her about to make off with his purse, and rather than having her carted off to prison he offers her a business proposition. The man claims to be a cabalist, a student of Jewish mysticism and ritual magic, who works for the most powerful families in Florence. But his identity is secret—he is known only as "the Magician of Florence"—and he is in need of an assistant. She accepts the job and begins smuggling his talismans throughout the city.
But the talismans are not what they seem, and neither is the Magician. When Giulia's involvement with him ends with his murder, she's drawn into a treacherous web of espionage and deceit involving the forces of Rome, Naples, and a man known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Accused of the Magician's murder, Giulia is pursued by the handsome policeman Niccolo, Lorenzo's henchmen, and foreign spies, and in order to survive, she must not only solve the mystery of the mystery of the Magician's murder, but that of her own past.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
2 reviews
S M (MaChienneLit)
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September 20, 2017
I am voluntarily submitting my honest review after receiving an ARC of this ebook from NetGalley. I started this novel with high, high expectations because I have read and thoroughly enjoyed several of this author's previous works. While this book is not my favorite novel by Kalogridis, it did not disappoint. The plot is fast=paced, with lots of drama and intrigue. The vivid descriptions of Florence invoke a sense of place and time that enhance the novel to the extent that the city herself is almost another character. While elements of the paranormal are critical to the progress of the plot and the main players undoubtedly believe in the power of magic, the bounds of realism are not breached so a modern reader would not find anything hard to believe or explain. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction or has an interest in Renaissance Italy should not miss this book.
About the author
JEANNE KALOGRIDIS lives in California, where she shares a house with an adorably wiggly black lab named Django. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Borgia Bride, and numerous other dark fantasy and historical novels.
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