Venice has always held a special allure for me with its alleyways, canals, islands, gondolas. They all beckoned me to explore further. So a new book by Laura Morelli, set in Venice, promises an escape to this historic land.

Set in 1510 we are taken into the world of artists and the “gilders’ guild”. The gilders’ guild is a society dedicated to the practice and preservation of the art of using gold and metal leaf. I had no idea this technique was such a specialty.

But darkness – in the form of the Black Death - has swept over the city of Venice. Plague outbreaks in the 16th century were reported to be even far deadlier than those at the end of the 15th century.

Our protagonist, Maria Bartolini, has worked for her father her entire life and has fallen in love with Cristiano who also works for her father. She dreams of running her father’s business, happily married to Cristiano. But her father has other plans – he says for her own good. He sends her away to be an apprentice to a famous painter, Master Trevisan. For a while, she manages to sneak away occasionally for a few moments of stolen bliss with her lover. However the plague is making it more and more difficult and the streets are being closed in an attempt to curb the spread of the plague. Her dreams of returning to Cristiano and her family business are slipping through her fingers. Soon Trevisan’s servants discover the true reason that Maria’s father sent her away, leaving Maria having to make a very difficult decision. She must do whatever it takes to maintain her family’s reputation.
While the trials and tribulations of Maria’s life held my interest, I was especially enraptured with the chapters where she worked alongside the painter Master Trevisan. I loved reading of how his pigments were prepared and how Maria’s talent enhanced his art.

Morelli’s descriptions of the city and the lives of the character seemed to envelop me into the story. I was there alongside Maria through her joys, her heartbreaks, her grief. I ached for her as she made some near impossible choices, choices no one should have to make. This is one of those few books that I will read again – at another time when I can shut out the world and make Maria’s world my world.