The Scarlet Contessa: A Novel of the Italian Renaissance
3/5
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About this ebook
What Philippa Gregory has done for Tudor England, Jeanne Kalogridis does for Renaissance Italy. Her latest irresistible historical novel is about a countess whose passion and willfulness knew no bounds—Caterina Sforza
Daughter of the Duke of Milan and wife of the conniving Count Girolamo Riario, Caterina Sforza was the bravest warrior Renaissance Italy ever knew. She ruled her own lands, fought her own battles, and openly took lovers whenever she pleased.
Her remarkable tale is told by her lady-in-waiting, Dea, a woman knowledgeable in reading the "triumph cards," the predecessor of modern-day Tarot. As Dea tries to unravel the truth about her husband's murder, Caterina single-handedly holds off invaders who would steal her title and lands. However, Dea's reading of the cards reveals that Caterina cannot withstand a third and final invader—none other than Cesare Borgia, son of the corrupt Pope Alexander VI, who has an old score to settle with Caterina. Trapped inside the Fortress at Ravaldino as Borgia's cannons pound the walls, Dea reviews Caterina's scandalous past and struggles to understand their joint destiny, while Caterina valiantly tries to fight off Borgia's unconquerable army.
Jeanne Kalogridis
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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Reviews for The Scarlet Contessa
14 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Whilst not as enjoyable as "Painting Mona Lisa" by the same author, this is still an enjoyable historical novel set in Renaissance Italy although the middle of the story dragged a bit.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Let me take a moment to observe, very gratefully, that this has got to be one of the most misleading book covers I've encountered in quite a while. Sing hosannah! When I got a proper look at it, I felt I'd made a dreadful mistake and ordered some ridiculous softcore porn "romance" novel that was only sort of about Caterina Sforza, badass military bee-hatch of the Italian Renaissance.
Whew! Especially since The Scarlet Contessa seemed to be the only novel -- indeed, the only book -- devoted to Sforza that I could find after wondering what the hell kind of possibly-just-anachronistic-but-wouldn't-it-be-awesome-if-not hot chick in armor riding with the "bad" guys Gina McKee was supposed to be in The Borgias.
For a lot of the novel, though, Caterina is barely present. Much in the way Diana Paxon's The White Raven told the legend of Tristan and Isolde/Iseult from the point of view of the princess' maidservant, The Scarlet Contessa is mostly about Caterina's lady-in-waiting, Dea, a woman of even more dubious origins than Caterina (Caterina was a Duke's bastard daughter, but Renaissance Italy didn't make as big a deal about that as some cultures. As might be expected of a place and a time in which a supposedly celebate Pope made his son the commander of the papal armies and stuff) and who has a preternatural gift for reading Tarot cards. Which means the first third of the book is pretty much a giant foreshadowing yawn fest.
I guess I should have taken our lady-in-waiting's name -- Dea means "goddess" I do believe -- as a warning. There isn't quite enough supernatural/magical claptrap to make this a fantasy novel, but it comes awfully close. Dea inherited her murdered mother's "gift" with the Tarot, which gift seems to involve her not only reading the cards but also projecting herself bodily into their images (i.e. almost getting hit by falling masonry from the Tower card, which comes up over and over to make sure we Get It). In addition, Dea performs rituals to "find her angel" in the best New Agey bulldada tradition. This goes on for ages and pages until the non-New Age reader wants to Throw Up.
And of course everything Dea's Tarot cards predict Comes True. Quite literally. So, e.g., when the Two of Cups turns up in a reading, the promised lover shows up with a gift of two golden goblets. And of course Caterina -- remember, this is sort of supposed to maybe be a novel about Caterina? -- here presented as the most spoiled young woman ever, must have Dea by her side at all times so she can get a reading whenever she wishes. Huh what?
In the "further reading" section at the end of this book is a short -- unpardonably short! -- list of books that contain more information about the Lady of Forli, none of which are recent at all and so are most likely out of print. Sing hosannah I live in the Age of the Internet and can track down copies of those with relative ease, because if there's one thing I want to do after reading this book, it's read a better book about this fascinating woman.
I wish Jean Plaidy had written about her. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With the new Showtime series The Borgias, publishers and authors have begun the cascade of Borgia-era novels. I've seen no fewer than five new Borgia-inspired novels being published (or republished) this year. I'm sure that's only the beginning. With the increased interest in the Borgias and all things Renaissance Italy has come a a resurgence in older Borgia novels, including Jeanne Kalogridis' The Borgia Bride and her 2010 novel, The Scarlet Contessa. But Kalogridis has been painting the world of Renaissance Italy on the page for years with the most vivid and well-trained hand out there.In The Scarlet Contessa, Kalogridis takes on Caterina Sforza, the daughter of the Duke of Milan, a fascinating and strong Renaissance woman who dared to defy Cesare Borgia, son of the notorious Pope Alexander VI (aka Rodrigo Borgia). Told through the eyes of Caterina's servant, Dea, who possesses the unique ability to read Tarot cards and foretell Caterina's future, Scarlet Contessa tells a strange and dangerous tale made even more colorful by Caterina's dark past and desperate need to continue fighting to protect her lands and live the life she wants.I had somewhat mixed feelings about this one -and they aren't all bad. Let's start the bad...just to get it over with. Dea isn't a bad character -far from it, she's a fairly a interesting woman who offers interesting commentary on Caterina's life and lives a dangerous and romantic life of her own. However, Caterina was a considerably more interesting character who openly defied the social conventions of the times. She ended up being more interesting than the narrator of the story, and whenever the narrative shifted more to focus on Dea, I wanted it to get back to Caterina because I just wasn't as interested in Dea.That aside, Scarlet Contessa is an incredibly well-written, well-plotted novel that I was able to get completely invested in from the very beginning and kept with it up until the end. Kalogridis' attention to detail and excellent eye for historical accuracy shone through in every sentence and the characters where fascinating to read about, but most importantly, I couldn't put the book down.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caterina Sforza, beautiful, passionate and willful, ruled a city-state as regent for her son Ottaviano, leading troops into battle and holding her own for many years against the treachery and shifting sands of politics in Renaissance Italy. Kalogridis chooses to tell Caterina's story from the point of view of her adopted sister Dea, a gifted seer with a murky past.An exciting read, The Scarlet Contessa moves quickly from the girls' early years into Caterina's first marriage and first exposure to papal poltiics of the Borgia variety and finally into her son's regency and a showdown with Pope Alexander and his son, Cesare Borgia. The only thing that kept the book from a five-star rating was a too-abrupt ending.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This one was hard to get through, I invested so much time that I felt I had to finish but I wanted to quit every time I opened the book. First of all, the names are ridiculously confusing. Second, the character of Dea was completely unbelievable. She finds out the man to whom she was married was her brother and her exact words are (I kid you not) "Oh my dear brother". There is no way that anyone who had been married, consummated or not, would not freak out at the revelation that your now dead husband was your long lost brother. After this point, I lost interest and started questioning everything the characters did and said. The only character I enjoyed was Caterina and I think the book would have been much more powerful if written from her point of view.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very easy historical novel to get swept away in. From the start it drops you right into a dire situation which portends to only get worse for Caterina & is relayed to us by her closest attendant, Dea. I found Caterina an interesting woman. She had some aspects of her personality that were tough to love also she also displayed courage & steely determination. She was quite vivid & real & I loved watching her evolve throughout the book. For Dea's part, she was the anchoring heart of the story, for me. Her life winding along with Caterina's was fascinating to watch & though I figured out the twist of her marriage early on, I liked how that thread played out. I found that I really enjoyed the triumph cards & how they figured into Dea & Caterina's fates. I'm not too much for the supernatural aspect in my historical fiction but it really worked for me here. This was my first read by Kalogridis & I will happily read more of her works.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The story is told through the eyes of Dea. She is the lady in waiting to Caterina Sforza. Caterina and Dea are very strong women. Caterina is bold and daring, willing to do what ever it takes to get the success she craves. Dea is strong in more subtle ways. She gives strength to those around her especially Caterina. Their fates are tied together by love, loyalty and sisterhood. The storyline was good, although a little hard to take sometimes. I don't want to give too much away and you know how I hate spoilers, but I do feel the need to tell you. There are some rape scenes in this book. They are not overly graphic and they are relevant to the story line. However, Jeanne Kalogridis did a great job weaving together this interesting story filled with love, hate and revenge. The story flows from beginning to end. Some of the events in this story are based on real life events. Which ones? Well you know I won't tell you. You are going to have to read it yourself. However if you are like me, you will find yourself googling to see which ones are real and which are pure fiction. If you like historical fiction I suggest you gives this book a try. Jeanne Kalogridis is the author of several other historical fiction books including: The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici and the Borgia Bride.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This one was hard to get through, I invested so much time that I felt I had to finish but I wanted to quit every time I opened the book. First of all, the names are ridiculously confusing. Second, the character of Dea was completely unbelievable. She finds out the man to whom she was married was her brother and her exact words are (I kid you not) "Oh my dear brother". There is no way that anyone who had been married, consummated or not, would not freak out at the revelation that your now dead husband was your long lost brother. After this point, I lost interest and started questioning everything the characters did and said. The only character I enjoyed was Caterina and I think the book would have been much more powerful if written from her point of view.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Unlikeable heroine plus too many sex scenes for my taste.