Historical Fictionistas discussion

I was reading through the topics but to my surprise I did not see Sarah Dunant (apologize if I somehow missed her!). She is one of my all time favorite HF authors, especially The Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan and Sacred Hearts. They all take place in Italy during the (Italian) renaissance. Anyone else love her books?

Yes she is awesome I recently bought in the name of the family which is the sequel to blood and beauty amazing love the richness and vitality she breathes to renaissance Italy

I really enjoyed her Renaissance Italy books. My favorite is Sacred Hearts. I was surprised by how interesting a book about enclosed nuns could be, but she really humanizes them. I love how she shows the relationships between the women, the struggles for power in that tight-knit society, the various ways that they cope with their environment (from the nun who develops something like anorexia, to the one who finds satisfaction in her role as apothecary and healer). Apparently, Dunant spent a week in an Italian convent as part of her research.

^ that’s pretty cool. I did feel whilst I was in Florence and reading the birth of Venus that I was in the book and it made Florence and her past feel real so much so I felt I could almost see her characters lol. .... but that’s probably my imagination getting the better of me

I think my favorite is Sacred Hearts as well! I just really loved the characters in that one. I only read the first one of the Borgia books and although it was well written I didn’t like it quite as much. I think because it’s about real, well documented historical figures that I already had an idea about in my head (from the Showtime Borgias series) and it was hard to get that out of my head when reading.

The series is based on the books btw

My favourite is also . I was teaching a class on Teresa of Avila at the time I read it and it was clear to me that she had done a lot of research on enclosed convents and really respected her sources.

Anne Line wrote: "I was reading through the topics but to my surprise I did not see Sarah Dunant (apologize if I somehow missed her!). She is one of my all time favorite HF authors, especially The Birth of Venus, In..."

I loved Sarah Dunant's writing. I've only read two: Blood & Beauty: The Borgias and In the Company of the Courtesan, and loved them both.

Sacred Hearts was stunning--not just beautifully executed historical fiction, but gorgeous writing and deep, compelling characters. All within the confines of a cloistered Italian convent. Superb.