Curtains for the Cardinal [Paperback]

Elizabeth Eyre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1994

Spiriting away the beautiful daughter of a prince who had killed his son in a fit of rage and was threatening to make her another victim, the black-cloaked Sigismondo finds himself in a deadly game of hide and seek. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Authors Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey ( Death of a Duchess ) muffle the literary resonance of their pseudonym in a heavy, obscure and excessively melodramatic plot. Their second mystery set in medieval Italy again features brilliant deductionist Sigismondo, who is bald like a monk but who fights like a soldier, and his slack-jawed manservant, Benno, who has an air of "amiable idiocy." Sigismondo, bringing a message from Duke Ludovico of Rocca to his sister, the dying Princess Oralia, is puzzled by her cryptic remarks. They are interrupted by her husband, Prince Livio, who bursts from behind the arras with his sword drawn. Shouting " Betrayed me! Betrayed me! Bastard! Bastard! " Livio runs to the next room and beheads his teenage son; Sigismondo grabs Livio's 14-year-old daughter, Princess Minerva and heads back to Rocca. In the ensuing days, a cardinal is burned to death, a prostitute takes Princess Minerva under her wing and Sigismondo, after a bloody battle, finally gets to the bottom of the mystery. Although period details of dress and custom are carefully rendered, the story itself, neither a chase tale nor a courtroom whodunit, suffers mortally from its indeterminate identity.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The further adventures ( Death of the Duchess , LJ 1/92) of Sigismondo, agent/envoy extraordinaire, and odiferous sidekick Benno begin when Sigismondo "rescues" a betrothed princess from the jealous sword of her father, the Duke of Nemora. The rich plot quickly expands to include religious pilgrims, political intrigue, the murder of a corrupt cardinal, and sundry covert machinations by all concerned. An improvement on Eyre's first mystery; essential for historical mystery fans.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (October 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425141268
• ISBN-13: 978-0425141267
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,181,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Tapestry!, March 31, 2000

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Curtains for the Cardinal: An Italian Renaissance Mystery (Hardcover)

It's more than just curtains for the cardinal! Elizabeth Eyre makes Act V of "Hamlet" seem tame, if you consider the "body count" involved! It's a stabbing here, a cremation there, a blinding here, and over there, more maiming and mayhem!

So it goes for Eyre's third novel featuring the indomitable Sigismondo. In "Curtains for the Cardinal," the author spins quite the tangled web in this tapestry of a plot set in Renaissance Italy. And the vision of dukes and princes and clerics is

not altogether a happy, or pleasing, one!

On a visit to the Duke Livio's estate, Sigismondo, always followed by his half-wit attendant/confidant Benno and his dog Biondello, is witness to the Duke's famed "fit of rage" (some would call it madness!). In this one, he decapitates his own son! Sigismondo seizes the moment and, quick-thinking man he is, spirits away the Duke's daughter before she also befalls such a fate. The Lady Minerva has been promised to another Duke's son in marriage, in what could be foreseen as a great political coup between the two families! Minerva is quickly whisked out of town and safely hidden.

We then meet Cardinal Petrucci. If ever there was a Church official not deserving of his rank, this Cardinal is he. Conniving, lecherous, greedy, the Cardinal gets ready to further his own causes when, viola, up in flames he goes, the victim of an assassin. Much hysteria, naturally, abounds, and the plot becomes ever so much more convoluted. Again, Sigismondo and Co. to the rescue. Eyre re-introduces us to Angelo, the "beautiful and heavenly" Angelo, who is working the crowds as a magician.

Suffice it to say, all the problems are solved, the Lady Minerva is wed, and all is happy in Italy. For this time. Eyre has another book to follow. "Dirge for a Doge," the third in this series, is hot on the heels!

Eyre (actually a pseudomym of Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey) has created an absorbing historical series; she seems quite "on target," historically. While perhaps a bit of melodrama enters now and then, all is forgiven as the storyline is compelling and worth the read. Don't miss it!