The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice [Hardcover]

Jane Howard Guernsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

The dramatic and warmly human story of the first woman to earn a university degree

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A praiseworthy if perfunctory biography of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the ``first woman in the world'' to receive a university doctorate. Elena Cornaro was not only beautiful, brilliant, and of good family, but chaste, compassionate, generous and so dedicated to her Roman Catholic religious beliefs that she wore a monk's habit under her elaborate silk gowns. Born in 1646, by the time she was 11 years old, she had learned Latin, Greek, French, and Spanish, and was studying art, music, philosophy, and history. She went on to become proficient in four more languages as well as mathematics, astronomy, and physics. She had also taken vows of chastity that put her in conflict with her father, who wanted her to make an advantageous marriage. They compromised: she would remain a virgin, but give up her dream of entering a convent. He continued to support her studies and frequently showed off her erudition at parties and gatherings of distinguished scholars. Elena's academic reputation grew until she was recommended as a candidate for a degree at the University of Padua, passing her final exam when she was 30 years old. However, she had punished her health with ``extreme penance,'' wearing hair shirts and starving herself (a condition called ``holy anorexia''), and died at 38. After many funeral honors, she was buried in a chapel in Padua, now called the Cornaro Chapel. In the US, she is venerated by a stained glass window at Vassar College. Unfortunately, very few of Elena's own writings survived, so freelance writer and editor Guernsey tries to give dimension to Elena's life by describing her extended family, the tutors and notables who influenced her, as well as depicting life in Venice in the late 17th century. Limited introduction to a woman who is a heroine of Vassar graduates and other women scholars. (55 b&w illustrations) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

"...carefully researched and highly readable...Elena Cornaro should be nominated one of the hundred most important people of the last thousand years." -- Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, Spring 2000

"Fascinating volume" -- Gladys Dratch, Librarian, Harvard University

"Handsome and dignified . . . a splendid evocation" -- Leonard Boyle, Prefect, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome

"In THE LADY CORNARO, Jane Howard Guernsey has produced a lively, amply illustrated, and richly informed account of the life of the first woman Ph.D." -- New Oxford Review, November 2000

"THE LADY CORNARO provides new insight into the life of 'La Prima Donna Laureata nel Mondo' ('The First Woman Graduate in the World'). Elena Cornaro's prodigious intelligence and fervent faith are luminous constants in this warmly human story of her brief, conflicted life." -- E. Maxine Bruhns, University of Pittsburgh

"This first, full-length study in English beautifully conveys the life, ambiance and achievements of Elena Cornaro." -- Benjamin G. Kohl, Vassar College

Elena Cornaro should be nominated one of the hundred most important people of the last thousand years. -- Professor Betty Rizzo, City University of New York

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: College Ave Pr; 1st edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883551447
• ISBN-13: 978-1883551445
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,105,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to Read, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice (Hardcover)

This book is a must-read for anyone who has studied under the Cornaro Window in Thompson Library at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. As you may know, the stunning Cornaro Window at Vassar celebrates Lady Elena Cornaro, the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D (University of Padua in 1678). This book describes Elena's life in 17th century Venice, including her relationships with her parents, teachers, and friends. It was refreshing to read a biography about a humble and formidable person. I highly recommend The Lady Cornaro - Pride and Prodigy of Venice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the 100 most important people of the last 1000 years., September 26, 2000

By 

"bettyr2k" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice (Hardcover)

Although it is unlikely to happen, Elena Cornaro really should be nominated one of the hundred most important people of the last thousand years. In this carefully researched and highly readable book, Jane Howard Guernsey has successfully reconstructed the story of the Lady Cornaro's astonishing achievements and raised the questions they invite. The author has added to the recoverable information about the life of "The Cornaro," as she was affectionately known to her fellow Venetians, valuable contextual details about the life and milieu of Venice and Padua and about her tutors and contemporaries. These details elucidate both the uniqueness of the opportunities granted her and the enormous stress under which she lived as she labored to do the will of her earthly and her heavenly fathers. (Professor Rizzo's more extensive review of "The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice" may be found in "Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature," Vol. 19, No. 1, Spring 2000.)

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice (Hardcover)

"This well-researched biography of the first woman to earn a university degree...conveys the majesty of the Italian baroque period and [the Lady Cornaro's] astonishing scholarship." (Donald Miller, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Senior Editor)