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Sarah Dunant, the sorceress who conjured up the international sensation The Birth of Venus in 2004, returns today with her new novel, In the Company of the Courtesan.
It is very different yet equally delicious. Dunant returns once again to Italy of the Renaissance and all that implies: great artists, seething politics, the Catholic Church and a corrupt clergy.
Dunant sets her story in Rome and Venice. The moment is cataclysmic. In 1527, Holy Roman Emperor Charles is about to sack Rome with an invading army that includes Northern European Lutherans. They are eager not only to seize the city's booty but also to destroy its decadent inhabitants.
Facing the army is a lovely, wealthy, clever 21-year-old courtesan named Fiammetta, whose chief patron is a powerful cardinal, and her dwarf, Bucino. Although the public sees him as mere entertainment, the beast who illuminates the beauty, Bucino is, in fact, her bookkeeper, business partner, confidant, close friend and bodyguard.
The dwarf narrates this compelling story of love, betrayal, loyalty, debauchery, jealousy and redemption. Most of all, Courtesan captures how a relentless struggle to survive in a profoundly hostile world generates a deep affection.
Bookstores are full of historical novels. What sets Dunant's apart is its unique voice. Many authors have employed the vehicle of a prostitute or geisha's memoir. Dunant's Courtesan is original because Bucino possesses a singular perspective and a distinctive, world-weary tone.
By the end, readers will feel as though they understand the reality of being physically different in a harsh era.
The plot details how these two flee Rome for Venice with nothing but a few hidden jewels.
With grit and cunning, the dwarf and the prostitute must rebuild her position as a top-priced practitioner of the world's oldest profession.
The minutiae involved in launching Fiammetta as a Venetian courtesan reads like a mixture of Horatio Alger, Victoria's Secret and Renaissance scholarship: the clothing, the shoes, the gondola, the servants, the subtle advertising, the lavish furnishings, the need to create mystery, the clients, the food and drink.
Of course, as in every business partnership, once Fiammetta and Bucino triumph, all sorts of hidden agendas and suppressed emotions bubble up and threaten their bond and triumph.
With Valentine's Day upon us, this is the rare novel that lovers of both sexes might enjoy.
After all, Courtesan is both a business thriller and a historical love story. That's an unusual and fascinating combination.
In the Company of the Courtesan
By Sarah Dunant
Random House, 371 pp., $23.95
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