Botticelli’s Bastard by Stephen
Maitland-Lewis
ISBN: 9780983259695
Published: August 11, 2014
Published by: Glyd-Evans Press
Trade Paperback, 286 pages
I really enjoyed this creative novel which is part
mystery, part historical fiction, part art history, and completely captivating.
Art restorer, Giovanni Fabrizzi, is “haunted” by a
Renaissance painting discovered among his father’s collection of artwork.
Gradually the painting “reveals” to Gio its origins in 15th-century
Florence, Italy, to the characters who owned it through the centuries,
including a nephew of fur-trader Radisson, to its fate as Nazi war loot, to the
present. Fabrizzi becomes convinced that the painting is the work of
Botticelli, one of history’s greatest artists, then becomes obsessed with
finding the Jewish family to whom the painting belongs.Throw into the mix
family unease, ethical implications if it is stolen artwork, the possibility of
astounding wealth if the painting is authenticated and the reader is treated to
a rollercoaster of a read, with fascinating twists and turns.
I learned a lot about art restoration and how emotionally
attached art restorers can become to their work and their love for art in
general. Gio muses, “It’s a sad fact
about the world today. People will sooner talk about the latest movie, which of
course everyone will forget about next month, than discuss the awe inspired by
a work of art centuries old.”
I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the Pitti Palace,
the Ponte Vecchio, and the Uffizi Museum. It adds to the “feel” of Florence, as
does the references to the famous/infamous de Medici family.
The ending is inspirational and entirely satisfactory.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of art, art
history, historical fiction, mystery, family dynamics, intrigue and suspense.
To follow the tour and read more reviews, visit Botticelli's Bastard page on Italy Book Tours.
About the author:
 |
| Photo credit: Nathan Sternfeld |
Stephen Maitland-Lewis is an award-winning author, a British attorney, and a
former international investment banker. He held senior positions in the City of
London, Kuwait, and on Wall Street before moving to California in 1991. He owned
a luxury hotel and a world-renowned restaurant and was also the Director of
Marketing of a Los Angeles daily newspaper. Maitland-Lewis is a jazz aficionado
and a Board Trustee of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York. A member of
PEN and the Author’s Guild, Maitland-Lewis is also on the Executive Committee of
the International Mystery Writers Festival.
His novel Hero on Three Continents received numerous accolades, and Emeralds Never Fade won the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Award for Historical Fiction and the 2011 Written Arts Award for Best Fiction. His novel Ambition was a 2013 USA Best Book Awards and 2014 International Book Awards finalist and won first place for General Fiction in the 2013 Rebecca’s Reads Choice Awards. Maitland-Lewis and his wife, Joni Berry, divide their time between their homes in Beverly Hills and New Orleans.
Connect with Stephen: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Reviewed by Sandra
Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
His novel Hero on Three Continents received numerous accolades, and Emeralds Never Fade won the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Award for Historical Fiction and the 2011 Written Arts Award for Best Fiction. His novel Ambition was a 2013 USA Best Book Awards and 2014 International Book Awards finalist and won first place for General Fiction in the 2013 Rebecca’s Reads Choice Awards. Maitland-Lewis and his wife, Joni Berry, divide their time between their homes in Beverly Hills and New Orleans.
Connect with Stephen: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
And now for the giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Reviewed by Sandra
Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
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