Customer Reviews

The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-Century Venice (Women in Culture and Society)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a must read if you're interested in 16th century Venice, Veronica Franco, or the world of the famous Venetian courtesans. It's also an EXTREMELY dry read. The book is quite obviously a doctoral dissertation, and could have used an edit to made it more accessible (something more along the lines of Stephen Ozment's books). I'm glad I read it. I tracked it down because I wanted to see just how accurate the movie Dangerous Beauty--which is LOOSELY based on this book--was. The answer is: Not very. Oh well. For those of a scholarly bent, this is a great resource book, for those looking for a light, romantic read (a la the movie) look elsewhere.

Veronica Franco was a scholar, a skillful poet, a prostitute--and one of the most fascinating characters to emerge from Renaissance Venice. Given the current climate--in which a dim-faced bimbo can bring down a president--this book is refreshing in that it tells how Franco used sex to further the political and economic causes of her beloved home, Venice. Though the author wrote this as an academic biography, the character, personality, and wit of Franco comes through. The whole story is set in the lushly atmospheric and decadent days when Venice was on the verge of losing its dominance as an empire. Highly recommended, as is the volume of Franco's poetry just released by the University of Chicago Press.

Veronica Franco was a magnificent woman, and I was ecstatic to find this book after seeing the film based on her life, 'Dangerous Beauty'. Sometimes this biography is slow and verbose, but exciting nonetheless to learn all about this fascinating woman. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about 16th century Venice, women, courtesans, or someone who just wants to broaden their views.

I greatly enjoyed this book, but I found that wading through 16th century Venetian dialect was difficult. If you are looking for an entertaining story biography, look elsewhere, but if you want a dissertation-style biography, you will enjoy this, as I did.

Rosenthal's "The Honest Courtesan" tells the story of Veronica Franco, a 1500's courtesan (a high society prostitute) and poet. Franco's life is somewhat represented in the current movie "Dangerous Beauty". Franco was one of the first independant women of this time and wrote of women's equility. Unfortunatly, Franco's amazing story is told in a text book fashion. Rosenthal's writing is cold and uninteresting and reads like a doctoral dissertation. The subject matter is wonderful, but I would recommend Rosenthal's "Veronica Franco, Poems and Selected Letters". In this, Rosenthals writing the same, there is just less of it. The introduction briefly tells of Franco's life, and Franco's poetry brings her story to the reader.

In a society where courtesans were considered to be prime specimens of beauty and immorality, Veronica Franco dared to be virtuous. Her highly cultivated intellect made her a woman who was simultaneously desired and feared. Rosenthal brings Franco to life in this incredible consideration of the "honest courtesan's" impact on the world around her.

After seeing "Dangerous Beauty" I became curious about the distinctive life style of Renaissance Venice, and hoped to learn a lot more. This book was just a bit too dry and scholarly for casual reading. A great deal of space is used for both the Italian and English translations, which must be interesting to some readers. Although Veronica comes across as intelligent, determined and brave, I would have wished to know more about her and her society in terms of food, clothing, houses, daily activities, etc. Perhaps not enough is known about Veronica herself, but I would hope that a gifted author somewhere could make her story into a novel and breathe some warmth and life into her legend.

The Honest Courtesan is a good read and provides a good foundation for the literary aspect of Veronica Franco. I would have liked more biographical information. The references are excellent and the research done is thorough. Do be prepared for a LOT of textual analysis regarding Franco's works. The analysis is used to defend particular hypothesis; however, I do think that the text centers so much on Franco's literary career that some of the chapters may be misleading. The chapter on the Inquisition began well; but then deviated into metrical devises used in Franco's work and I was unable to find how or why these were connected other then that the works depicted the style and language of Venice during the 1500's. I recommend the book for scholars who are interested in Franco's literary career and for purely academic reading or research. I do not recommend the book for any neophyte who desires to learn more about the Venetian Courtesan or Veronica Franco. Whilst any level can read such text, the decimation of the poetic styles may be a bit much for those unfamiliar with the Renaissance or with poetic rhetorical devices.

I was hoping to find out about the remarkable life of Veronica Franco but instead was pummeled with quotes, references, repetition, and a string of Italian phrases. There's no doubt that this book is Rosenthal's dissertation. Hopefully one day it will be edited and condensed to 1/5 of its size.

Unfortunately I bought this book hoping that it would uncover more historical data and the actual works of Veronica Franco translated by a scholar in the field.
That was not the case.
The author used her college dissertation to make a book on a very important aspect of history when her dissertation would have been best served if it stayed at her college.
The author takes liberty to interpret Ms. Franco's works and for the reader it is a logistical nightmare. She first gives her statement as if fact at times which makes the facts (Veronica's actual works) seem secondary. Then she would have the Italian verse, followed by a translation.
Wow! do I feel very side tracked here.
I wouldn't even accept this for a dissertation!
Sorry, it doesn't work out in terms of literary flow, factual data or interesting storyline.