Florence, Italy. 1492.

"The night the painter arrived is sharp as an etching in my
memory…"

Like Botticelli's famous painting, from which this historical novel
takes its title, THE BIRTH OF VENUS tells its story through layers
of color and texture. Unlike other recent novels, it does not
recreate the story behind the painting. Instead, the reference to
Botticelli's masterpiece --- commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici and
depicting the mythological story of Venus being born from the sea
--- is meant to symbolize the vibrancy of Renaissance
Florence.

In the late fifteenth-century, Florence is thriving under the rule
of the Medici, a family well known for its love of luxury and the
arts. Symbols of the city's wealth and beauty are everywhere ---
luxurious clothing, sumptuous feasts and glorious works of
literature, art and architecture crafted by the likes of Dante,
Botticelli and Brunelleschi.

For fourteen-year-old Alessandra Cecchi, the daughter of a
prosperous cloth merchant, the gilt trappings only intensify her
feelings of helplessness at the limitations imposed on women's
freedom. She rebels against these restrictions in the only ways she
can --- soaking up knowledge in the schoolroom, using her sharp wit
to deter the cruelty of her older brothers, and drawing in
secret.

When her father arrives home on a winter night in 1492 with a
painter from the north, Alessandra's life will change in ways she
never imagined. The painter has been brought into their household
to work his magic on the chapel in the family's palazzo ---
creating the altar frescoes and bringing honor and glory to the
Cecchi name with each stroke of his paintbrush.

Intrigued as much by the young painter as by his talent, Alessandra
seeks his help in furthering her own artistic ability. Their
burgeoning relationship is cut short when Alessandra --- aware
that, for her, an arranged marriage is inevitable --- weds an older
nobleman she believes respects her intelligence and shares her love
of art.

As Alessandra's life changes, so too does the city of Florence. The
death of Lorenzo de' Medici paves the way for the Dominican friar
Girolamo Savonarola to wield his religious fanaticism and plunge
the city into its darkest days. Women are further oppressed, a
serial killer walks the streets delivering his own cruel brand of
justice and even within the Cecchi family it is impossible to
distinguish friend from foe. And in her marriage, Alessandra finds
devastating --- and potentially dangerous --- secrets, along with
the surprising freedom to pursue her art and her attraction to the
painter.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS breathes life into the history of Florence ---
its art, philosophy, religion and politics --- but it is clearly
Alessandra's story. The character of Alessandra was born when Sarah
Dunant, who owns a home in Florence, discovered a lack of records
about women artists during the fifteenth century. Was the desire
there, she wondered, to play a part in the city's art movement but
not the means to express it?

As the narrator of the tale, Alessandra takes up a pen during her
final days to recount the events that have shaped her life. This
vantage point allows Dunant to pique the reader's interest by
foreshadowing pivotal events. It also makes for a richer story by
giving Alessandra a perspective that would have eluded her had the
story been told as a chronological narrative.

THE BIRTH OF VENUS is by turns mesmerizing and thought provoking,
seductive and poignant. By the time you reach the last page, you'll
feel much as Alessandra does when she realizes that, despite her
talent never fully flourishing, she had the courage to add her
voice to the greater chorus and "to have been a part of it at all"
was reward enough.