This historical narrative incorporates the life, loves and violent death of the renowned beauty, Maria d’Avalos, who was murdered by her third husband, the talented, temperamental and highly acclaimed musician, Prince Carlos Gesualdo. The book is a work of fiction based on historical facts and real people. The reader is immediately transported to 16thcentury Naples, introduced gently but intricately to the history, fashion and social norms of the era; the opulence and power struggle of the upper class; and the intrigue, duplicity and manipulation of the Papacy. The subordinate yet sometimes powerful role of women is viewed against the complete freedom exercised by men, who see this as their right. Hammond, a full-time writer and art historian based in Victoria, has created beautifully flowing prose that is in tune to the musical background of Gesualdo’s life. It highlights his passion to create despite his being a complicated man with a complex private life, who lived a tortured existence till his death. This is a well-researched book of a high standard that will appeal to readers of historical fact/fiction and anyone interested in the Renaissance period, its music and social structure.

Freelance writer and reviewer, Anastasia Gonis, is a former bookseller

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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