About this book
A Golden Book of Venice by Lawrence Turnbull conjures the glittering canals, political intrigue, and aching romance of sixteenth-century Venice with the kind of vivid historic narration that made the city legendary. Set against the Republic’s waning grandeur, this literary historical fiction weaves courtly passion and civic strife into a portrait of a city both sumptuous and fragile.
Turnbull’s novel draws on Venetian lore and the lives of real figures—echoes of Fra Paolo Sarpi and the Servite convent—without sacrificing a compelling fictional arc. Readers will find richly drawn settings: ornate palaces, shadowed canals, and the ceremonial life of the citta nobilissima. Themes of power, faith, loyalty, and forbidden love play out amid diplomatic rivalries and the reverberations of Church and state. The prose pays careful attention to detail and atmosphere, offering a sense of authenticity that underpins the emotional stakes.
Ideal for listeners who love historical fiction and literary fiction with deep research and evocative worldbuilding, A Golden Book of Venice is perfect for fans of historical romance, readers who cherish atmospheric period narratives, and anyone eager to be transported to Renaissance Venice through absorbing storytelling.
