Introduction

Gabriella Mondini is a rarity in 16^th century Venice: a woman who practices medicine. Her father, a renowned physician, has provided her entrée to this all-male profession, and inspired her at every turn. Then her father disappears and Gabriella faces a crisis: she is no longer permitted to treat her patients without her father's patronage. She sets out across Europe to find where-and why-he has gone. Following clues from his occasional enigmatic letters, Gabriella crosses border after border, probing the mystery of her father's flight, and opening new mysteries of her own. Not just mysteries of ailments and treatments, but ultimate mysteries of mortality, love, and the timeless human spirit.

Filled with medical lore and sensuous, vivid details of Renaissance life, THE BOOK OF MADNESS AND CURES is an intoxicating and unforgettable debut.

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Excerpt

As I stared at the unopened letter, I thought of the ways my life had shrunken

since the departure of my father ten years ago. I didn’t dream of many things

anymore, of traveling to distant countries, even with the rare—though ever-

declining—freedom I could claim as a woman doctor. As we say in Venetia, the

world comes to us to beg favor, and I consoled myself with this. Still I could see

even now my father’s kindly yet remote ash-brown eyes, his raven and carmine

robes, and as I held his letter a small voice that had long been silent within me,

spoke. Let me accompany you, Papà. Don’t leave me behind.

His previous letter had arrived from Scotia last year, where he expressed his

vague intention of traveling even further north to collect the powdered horn of

the unicorn-fish, a cure against lethargy. Or perhaps south to the torrid clime of

Mauritania or Barbaria, where he might find the rare bezoar stone that takes all

sadness into its density and renders lunacy its wisdom. As with the arrival of all

his letters over the years, I had marveled at these cures, at the riches his medicine

chest must contain by now— and wished deeply to see them for myself, to acquire

them for my own. But his words hid something I couldn’t quite name though

they crept like sighs under my breath. Words like lethargy, bezoar, sadness.

HORN OF THE UNICORN: FOR LOSS OF DESIRE

The pulverized horn, very rare and unstable in the light, must be retained in a dark bottle and used sparingly. While I question the origins of the so-called horn of the unicorn (who has ever seen such a creature?), I do not question its efficacy.

When preparing to administer the powder you must avoid disturbing the contents with any sound or motion such as speech or shaking the bottle for it will alter the pitch of the desires considerably. Remove the fine grains with a small spoon and sprinkle over the scalp or the palms of the hands and gently massage into the skin, taking care to wear gloves or else the physician may become inflamed. The patient must choose an object, such as a small portrait of the once beloved, or even an emblem of work such as a chisel if the person wishes to rekindle a passion for a vocation.

One caution—if too much powder is given, the patient may dwell upon the very thing itself rather than what it signifies, like that King who fell in love with the ring rather than the woman, and couldn’t release her even after she died (for the ring lay under her tongue). At last the Bishop discovered the ring and withdrew it from her cold mouth. But then the King fell in love with the Bishop! Whereupon the cleric wisely tossed the ring into Lake Costentz. The King, poor man, sat in a small boat for the rest of his days, lovesick over the water.

The powder should be given in the evening, for sleep is advisable thereafter. The course of the dreams will indicate success or failure. The object of desire will appear along with those hidden imperatives that dreams offer us. Hunting scenes, and cardoons promise success. The appearance of scissors-grinders and women with black teeth warn against intemperance. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. Why does Gabriella leave her home, Venetia, for the unknown?
2. How does Gabriella’s view of her father change over the course of her journey?
3. What role does The Book of Diseases play in the novel? And what is the significance of the medicine chest?
4. Explore the possible interpretations of the quotes at the beginning of the novel and how they relate to one another and to the story.
5. In what ways do Gabriella’s companions Olmina and Gennaro guide or hamper her quest?
6. How do Gabriella’s disguises as a man alter her outlook on the world?
7. Who is healer and who is healed in The Book of Madness and Cures? Who is mad?
8. How does each place affect Gabriella as she travels from one destination to another? What happens when she goes from a city upon water to a city upon sand? Does the outer journey mirror the inner one?
9. Are there any parallels between the Renaissance theory of the four humors that must be balanced (choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic) and modern or alternative medicine today?
10. When Gabriella discovers a man chained inside the storeroom in Taradante, she is able to identify him as her father by their similarly shaped toes. What physical features or personality traits do you share with your loved ones?
11. How does Gabriella’s father’s death free her? Can you relate to her reaction—her acceptance and her sense of relief? When in your life have you lost something—a relationship, a loved one, a belonging or a dream—only to realize that loss has unshackled you?
12. What was your reaction to the ending of the book? Was it satisfying? Did it conclude the way you expected it to?
13. Gabriella’s father often told her “the patient owns the remedy.” What do you think this means?
14. On page 166 in the hardback copy, Vincenzo says, “We often flirt with the very thing we create…” He goes on to admit that he loves too much the beautiful bolts of cloth he sells, and then Gabriella realizes that she is single-minded to a fault. What would you say is simultaneously your weakness and your strength?
15. Time and time again, Gabriella must defend her worth as a female doctor and disguise herself as a man to ensure safe passage on her journey. When in your own life have you experienced prejudice, whether because of your gender or some other defining characteristic? How did you cope?

Weblinks

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