Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Muse of Fire Author: Carol M Cram ISBN: 9780981024141 Publisher: New Arcadia Type of book: 1808-1810, friendship, theater, family secrets, England, London, Old Price Riots, acting, well-born class vs low born, foundling houses, Mr. Kemble, Mrs. Siddons, daily life, work, calling, fire Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Abandoned at birth, the grandly christened Edward Plantagenet rises from London’s Foundling Hospital to take charge back stage at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, only to be blind-sided when he rescues Grace—a young woman escaping an abusive father. Grace finds an outlet for her passions as a Shakespearean actress, becoming ensnared by intrigues and setbacks that mar the pathway to stardom she craves. Set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Old Price Riots of 1809, Grace and Ned find common purpose in a quest that threatens to tear both their worlds apart Characters: Main characters include Grace Johnson and Edward "...

Name of Book: The Towers of Tuscany Author: Carol M. Cram ISBN: 9780981024110 Publisher:  New Arcadia Publishing Type of book: Italy, Tuscany, art, painting, passion vs society, women's role, black plague, disguising self, escaping, 1338-1340s or 1350s? Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Set amid the twisting streets and sunlit piazzas of medieval Italy, the Towers of Tuscany tells the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Sofia Barducci is born into a world where a woman is only as good as the man who cares for her, but she still claims the right to make her own mistakes. Her first mistake is convincing her father to let her marry Giorgio Carelli, a wealthy saffron merchant in San Gimignano, the Tuscan city of towers. Trained in secret by her father to create the beautifully-crafted panels and altarpieces acclaimed today as masterpieces of late medieval art, Sofia's desire for freedom from her...