Customer Reviews

The Lady Cornaro: Pride and Prodigy of Venice

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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.

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.)

"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)

I recently noticed that the popular "Book Lover's Page-a-Day Calendar" chose to include THE LADY CORNARO as its featured "star" for December 11, 2002.

"You've probably never heard of Elena Cornaro," observes the calendar entry, "yet she holds a unique place in history. In 1678, she became the first woman in Europe to receive a Ph.D. Jane Howard Guernsey's book is the first full-length biography of this remarkably accomplished woman . . . an inspiring story."

I believe that it is highly appropriate for THE LADY CORNARO to be included in a book lover's daily calendar described as "365 days of good authors, good books and good reading . . . the calendar of passionate recommendations." Truly, THE LADY CORNARO is an outstanding book, worthy of a passionate recommendation!

Here is a typical book that was written with a preconceived opinion. Biased. The author decided that Lady Cornaro was a prodigy and a genius and sure, she wanted to prove her point. However, after struggling with the text what I feel borders on disgust.

First of all, Lady Cornaro was no prodigy. She was nothing but a poor, used child, an instrument in her ambitious father's hands. Thus the title of the book is wrong. It should have been dedicated to Gianbattista and life in the 17th century Venice.

Among all the information, the least is said about Elena herself. I doubt her immense intelligence. We are said that she spoke a foreign language like a native. In a very short time and with no accent ? That is not possible if the person has never spent some time in the country where that language is spoken. That was true then just as it is true today. Having a native speaker as a teacher means nothing. And being able to translate works in early twenties from a language she started learning at the age of eight does her image of a genius more harm than good. Then "Elena's ability to foretell things was widely discussed, and there were numerous testimonies to the public's admiration for her." (p.193). Something is very wrong with this sentence. Now, suddenly, she is not just a scholar but also a clairvoyant!!!! The author did not mention this anywhere else in the book so it was not an important comment. But again, I have a feeling that she needed more proof for Elena's alleged superiority.
Not one of her achievements (that we know of - we shouldn't forget that, unfortunately, she destroyed a large number of her writings) is unusual and grand. The fact that she was the first woman to get a university degree (funny how it immediately translates to a Phd!!!) means only that she had the CHANCE to defend her knowledge - something that was, as we saw, denied to other female scholars. The author says (exclamation marks!!) that the next woman to be awarded the degree got it more than 50 years later!!! That is no reason to applaud Elena. It is rather a sad information on the treatment and negligence of women. Who knows what potential was there in her siblings? Maybe they too would have become "geniuses" had Gianbattista invested equal time and money in their education. We should also be careful not to forget that he was a patron of several academies - of course they would love to see his daughter well educated as long as his coffers were available to them! Gianbatista's striving to get his sons in Libro d'Oro, his immense enthusiasm and political goals, propaganda tool that Elena was in his hands, finally costed her her life. But that propaganda made her famous.