In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel [Hardcover]

Sarah Dunant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2006

My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor’s army blew a hole in the wall of God’s eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.

Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant’s epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid.

With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her.

Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan’s court. But Fiammetta and Bucino’s greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all.

A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the world’s greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Renaissance Italy enchants in Dunant's delicious second historical (after The Birth of Venus), as a wily dwarf Bucino Teodoldo recounts fantastic escapades with his mistress, celebrated courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini. Escaping the 1527 sacking of Rome with just the clothes on their backs (and a few swallowed jewels in their bellies), Fiammetta and Bucino seek refuge in Venice. Starved, stinking, her beauty destroyed, Fiammetta despairs—but through cunning, will, Bucino's indefatigable loyalty and the magic of a mysterious blind healer called La Draga, she eventually recovers. Aided by a former adversary, who now needs her as much as she needs him, Fiammetta finds a wealthy patron to establish her in her familiar glory. Through Bucino's sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued narration, Dunant crafts a vivid vision of Venetian life: the weave of politics and religion; the layers of class; the rituals, intrigue, superstitions and betrayals. Dunant's characters—the steely courtesan whose glimpse of true love nearly brings her to ruin; the shrewd and passionate dwarf who turns his abnormalities into triumph; and the healer whose mysterious powers and secrets leave an indelible mark on the duo—are irresistible throughout their shifting fortunes. (Feb.)
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From The New Yorker

Dunant's latest historical romp follows the fortunes of a beautiful, flame-haired courtesan, Fiammetta Bianchini, who, after escaping from the 1527 pillage of Rome, sets up shop in Venice. The novel, narrated by Fiammetta's servant, a dwarf, chronicles the pair's horrific scrapes and their dizzying triumphs, which include Fiammetta's becoming Titian's model for his "Venus of Urbino." Along the way, Dunant presents a lively and detailed acccount of the glimmering palaces and murky alleys of Renaissance Venice, and examines the way the city's clerics and prostitutes alike are bound by its peculiar dynamic of opulence and restraint.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (February 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400063817
• ISBN-13: 978-1400063819
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of the critically acclaimed Hannah Wolfe mystery series, Sarah Dunant is also well known in the United Kingdom for her work as a television host. She lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written, March 3, 2006

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book was so good that I read it in one sitting. In this book Dunant returns to the place and time she does best: Renaissance Italy. This time the story takes place in Rome and Venice in 1527, and focuses upon Fiametta Bianchi and her dwarfish servant, Bucino Teodaldo. In the Company of the Courtesan is told from his point of view.

The book opens in Rome. Fiametta, a successful courtesan, leaves the city with her servant and goes to Venice, the city that was famous in this time period for the courtesans that lived there. Venice is a decadent city, filled with sin and vice, and it is through this that Bucino and his mistress must wade in order for her to be successful in her chosen profession. Along the way we run into a variety of interesting characters: a servant with sticky fingers; a Jew who lives in the Jewish ghetto of Venice; a blind healer called "La Draga;" a Turk who is fascinated by Bucino's size; the poet Aretino; the artist Titian; and a variety of Fiametta's clients. Many of the characters were, of course, real people; others, of course, were not. The story that Dunant creates, which mixes what really happened with fiction, is breathtaking.

This book is well-written, and very much like The Birth of Venus, Dunant's 2004 novel that is set in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. In the Company of the Courtesan has the same kind of qualities, but is a great book in its own way.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Richly Descriptive Period Piece., July 30, 2007

By 

SUPPORT THE ASPCA. "PILUM THROWER!" (?????) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel (Paperback)

This book has most everything you would want in a period piece. It contains unique richly developed characters, intrigue, humor, & a deep plot. The sights, sounds, smells, & ambiance of 16th century Venice are almost lifelike. There is a fine mingling of social mores & politics that leads to many types of betrayal that keep the reader guessing. The author tells Fiammetta's story through the eyes of Bucino, a clever dwarf who shares her lodgings. He eventually will be the main character. The story begins in 1527 with the sacking of Rome. Fiammetta, is ravaged by the invaders & flees the city with Bucino{a loyal caretaker, & sardonic, resourceful spy}, with little else but the clothes on their backs, & some swallowed jewels. They reach Fiammetta's deceased mother's home in Venice. Soon La Draga, a mysterious, blind woman comes into their lives to nurse Fiammetta back to her original health & beauty.

After a long recuperation she sets out to be the highly desired Courtesan she had been back in Rome. But, clearly she has not recovered as she gets more businesslike & cold as the book advances. Her lovers & friends are well done 7 most have an impact on the general theme. The most interesting relationship in the book is between La Draga & Bucino. their relationship will eventually put Fiammetta into the background, while these two characters play out their dramatic fates. The only minor flaw is that it was a too long, had it been a bit shorter in reaching the end I would have given it 5 stars.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book!, February 14, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel (Hardcover)

With this, her second foray into historical fiction, Sarah Dunant gives her readers another brilliant novel.

Obviously well researched, Dunant's depiction of the Italian Renaissance setting is so realistic as to be magical. She transports the reader to 1527 and keeps them there. This fascinating novel is well fleshed out with historical figures and events.

The story is that of Fiametta, the titular courtesan and her dwarf companion, Bucino. They lose everything they hold dear, and barely escape with their lives when Rome is sacked and destroyed around them. Fiametta's legendary beauty was damaged in an encounter with "Lutheran harpies," and the two voyage to her matriarchal home in Venice to recover.

Sadly Fiametta"s mother has long since died and nothing remains of her fortune. With the help of La Draga, an eerily blind, crippled healer, Fiametta is nursed back to health and works hard to regain her status as the high-class companion to the wealthy and titled men of her time.

All is well until an accident involving Bucino sends him seeking after La Draga. To her misfortune, his discovery of her secret ends in an accusation of witchcraft and subsequent trial.

Dunant's Venice is truly compelling, shown to the reader by the unusually astute observer Bucino, narrator of this story. At times he is companion, helper, business manager, confidant and exotic plaything. He uses his status as a dwarf to full advantage. He is quite a sympathetic character; one can't help but like him for his loyalty to his mistress. He stands by her through thick and thin, even when there is considerable danger to his own skin. Indeed his loyalty makes him reject an offer that, had he accepted, would have set him up in luxury.

The courtesan Fiametta is both vain and shallow, excellent qualities in a woman who lives by her beauty. Under her flighty facade she has a core of steel, to have survived not only the rape of Rome, but also the setbacks that awaited her in the expected haven of Venice.

Although Fiametta is a slightly lesser character, her relationship with Bucino is the backbone of the story and the heart of the book; all events in some way revolve around her. La Draga the blind healer, has a terrible secret, this and her powers leave a permanent mark on the courtesan and her dwarf.

Armchair Interviews says: Dunant's characters are absolutely irresistible.