the research into period detail carries this book set in Venice

• Book: The Venetian Contract
• Location: Istanbul (Constantinople), Venice
• Author: Marina Fiorato

Review Author: Isabella Orff

Really enjoyed the details of Venice in the late 1500s – for example I never realised that the beak mask was worn by the medics and that they put herbs and nice smells in the beaks to protect them from some of the more nauseating wafts that I am sure must have been everywhere, especially during an outbreak of plague. I didn’t really bond with the characters and to be honest I had to go along with the flights of fancy that are needed to hold the story together, I am probably not a fan of the “mystical”, whether it is ‘Death’ (or is it???) living in a sarcophagus, or a salamander…I probably lost belief, as it were, when Feyra was intombed in the boat (fairly early on), developed the plague whilst living under the cargo but got herself through it without any real water – the occasional drops left by the crew for Mr Death didn’t sound like much (and the dehydration I think would have killed her!). She is, it has to be said, superwoman! But excellent for interesting snippets about Venice, I often found myself transported to the city with all its glittering foulness + interesting details around the life of Palladio.

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