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Leonardo's Swans

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Historical fiction at its finest aptly describes "Leonardo's Swans," which is rich in period detail and court intrigue. A voice performance at its finest is also an appropriate description of Elizabeth Sartre's narration. She brings alive the longings and loves of two sisters in Renaissance Italy.

Ferrara is home to Isabella and Beatrice. They're close together in age but miles apart in personality. "Beatrice is a puzzle to Isabella, a fact that the older sister blames on the girl's unsupervised upbringing in wild Naples."

Isabella is engaged to Francesco, while the younger Beatrice will wed Ludovico, the future Duke of Milan. These marriages had been arranged when the girls were 5 and 6 years of age. It little mattered at the time which girl would be wed to which man as long as the match was beneficial for the city-state of Ferrara.

In later life the girls will be rivals as Isabella catches the eye of Ludovico, a man lacking in morals with a beautiful mistress, to say nothing of being her brother-in-law. He may have met his match in the ambitious Isabella who would use him so that his court painter, Leonardo da Vinci, might capture her image in oils.

These maneuverinsg are set against the plotting of France's rulers to invade Italy. Essex depicts the Renaissance with all its ribaldry and rivalry - wonderful listening!

- Gail Cooke

(This review first appeared in the May 2006 issue of The Historical Novels Review, Editor's Choice)

Leonardo da Vinci has become quite popular these days, as has the historical novel featuring an intrepid woman ahead of her time, with an abiding interest in Art. Doubleday is clearly capitalizing on these facts in marketing Karen Essex's novel, LEONARDO'S SWANS. The strategy will undoubtedly sell books, but it does not begin to do justice to Essex's haunting account of the sibling rivalry between two princesses of the Renaissance--Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Mantua, and her younger sister, Beatrice, wife of Il Moro, Duke of Milan. Told from the eyes of both sisters, the novel starts with deceptive superficiality, as the elegantly adept Isabella engages in a competitive battle for supremacy with the wilder and less intellectually accomplished Beatrice. Through a mere matter of poor timing, Beatrice has wed a more powerful and intellectually stimulating man--an event that perplexes Isabella, for how can the vagaries of fortune have allowed someone of Beatrice's pedestrian aspirations to seize the prize that is Milan? Moreover, Milan commands the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, acclaimed court painter and engineer to Il Moro. Determined to outshine her sister, Isabella sets herself to be immortalized by Leonardo's brush, while Beatrice steers a resolute course to wealth and power. But larger political concerns soon overwhelm the oblivious self-aggrandizement and foibles of these Renaissance sisters. Both are tested to their limits and beyond, compelled to discover an inner strength that will ultimately exalt one and destroy the other. Threaded within their story is Leonardo's relentless pursuit for knowledge and reverence for the fragility of life, which elevates him from the ambitions of those he most serve. Despite a sometimes-distracting mix of past and present tense, this is a rare novel that captures an era of unparalleled personality, the like of which shall never be seen again.

Since the beginning of recorded history, and undoubtedly prior to that, sex and politics have always been intertwined. Throw art, the quest for fame and immortality, and sibling rivalry into the mix, and you have the ingredients of Leonardo's Swans, a novel about the intense and treacherous court of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, the patron under whom Leonardo da Vinci created most of his important works. The story is mainly about two aristocratic sisters, Beatrice and Isabella d'Este, the latter of whom became the major art collector of her day. Beatrice married the Duke of Milan, but Isabella always felt that Beatrice had stolen her fate. To compensate, Isabella was determined to have herself immortalized in oil by the great Leonardo da Vinci. But Beatrice, who was aware that Isabella had designs on her husband too, had other plans for her sister. This is a rivalry literally to the death between two women who basically love each other, but who have been pitted against each other by their own need for the attentions of the most powerful men in the courts of Europe and by the political ambitions of their husbands and father. Leonardo da Vinci is the prize at the end of their quest, but the artist proves to be even more elusive than power itself. This is a pretty wild ride of a story, but at the end, in the author's notes, you find out that it's all true! The characters in the book really are the women in Leonardo's paintings. The notes at the end even tell you where to go to see the originals.

By the way, I am an architect, and I really enjoyed the detailed and accurate descriptions of the churches, palaces, and monuments of the period. I've always felt that Milan's historic architecture has taken a back seat to Florence for far too long.

This book had very little to do with the aforementioned painting and with Leonardo da Vinci in general, in which case I was let down because it turned out to be something I did not expect. Based on a true tale of Renaissance era power families in Italy, the characters seemed like mere ciphers who existed solely to report the goings on of the day. Essex seemingly couldn't decide between an historical work or historical fiction and, as a result, this book is neither. Given authors like Dunant and Gregory, historical fiction can be so much more in the hands of a gifted storyteller. This book was a disappointment through and through.

Leonardo's Swans tells the story of Isabella and Beatrice the D'Este sisters who lived in Rennaisance Italy and interacted with Leonardo Da Vinci and other famous artists. The rivalry between the sisters seems to be mostly in Isabella's mind because her ambitious nature compels her to believe that her younger sister had made the more advantageous marriage. The sisters' interaction with Da Vinci and the story behind some of that artist's greatest works such as "The Last Supper" and "The Mona Lisa" make interesting reading. The story constantly illustrates The obsession of the nobility with collecting art, jewellery, and clothing. Come to think of it, has anything changed in four hundred years? Despite this, the story is well written and quite entertaining.

The first chapter of the book is what hooks you. You know that interesting and compelling things are going to happen. The relationship between the two sisters and their spouses are intriguing and at times repellent. Leonardo is made human and the descriptions of his paintings make you want to jump the first plane to France and Italy. I eagerly await the author's next offering.

Sisters Isabella and Beatrice d'Este, daughters of the Duke of Ferrara, are Leonardo da Vinci's "Swans," in this fascinating historical novel by Karen Essex. The two sisters, who competed fiercely with each other, were often rivals in love, as well as for position, power, and for Leonardo da Vinci's work. They were both Renaissance women long before the term "Renaissance man" was coined. Each ruled with grace and much intrigue over two of the most cultured courts in Europe - courts, which under their influence came to epitomize the Renaissance - the rebirth in the arts, science and religion - thus advancing the movement, which began in Italy, and eventually became a crucial bridge between the Middle Ages and the modern world.

Both Isabella and Beatrice were betrothed to powerful men. They had been taught since childhood that marriage between noble houses "was no whimsical arrangement based on ephemeral qualities of preference or attraction. The peace of Italy depended on these unions, especially at the juncture in time in which they lived." The young women were considered "ambassadors of Ferrara and protectors of Ferrara's welfare."

Isabella, the d'Este family beauty, had spent her childhood with her parents, tutored by her illustrious mother, Leonora of Naples (a descendent of the House of Aragon). Thus she had been educated well beyond the norm, even for most men of the period. This elder d'Este sister read and spoke Latin impeccably, danced beautifully, sang like a nightingale, played various instruments, read avidly and, although only sixteen, was considered a connoisseur of the arts. How could she not be when she was constantly exposed to the works of Pisanello, Piero della Francesca, the Venetian Jacopo Bellini and Cosimo Tura? With her blonde hair and dark eyes, Isabella was also stunning. Fortunate in her fate, she was engaged to marry a man she loved who was also the appropriate candidate in terms of furthering her parents' political interests. Francesco Gonzaga, the Marquis of Mantua would wed young Isabella as soon as she turned sixteen.

Beatrice, only a year younger than her sister, had yet to meet her fiance who was twenty-three years her senior. She spent her early years in her grandfather's court at Naples for political reasons. There she was unsupervised and ran wild. Her biggest interest by far was horses and she rode superbly. She was also not adverse to taking risks, as opposed to her more ladylike, intellectual sister. Beatrice was as dark as Isabella was fair, but she was not unattractive. When she returned to her family in Ferrara, she studied hard to catch up with her education, as befitted her station, although she would remain a tomboy for a while yet. Beatrice had been engaged to marry Ludovico Sforza since she was five years-old.

The charismatic Sforza, called "Il Moro" because of his swarthiness, would become Duke of Milan and was one of the wealthiest and most powerful princes of Renaissance Italy. He came to power as regent for his young nephew Gian Galleazzo Sforza. And he showed absolutely no interest in his alliance with Beatrice and the d'Este family, even after his marriage to the teenage girl, flaunting his mistress all over Milan.

The Renaissance thrived during this period, bringing about artistic and religious transformation. Florentine painter, sculptor, draughtsman, Leonardo da Vinci, a universal genius who typified the Renaissance man, was also an architect, town planner, inventor, scientist, writer and musician who was in his prime. He came under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici and then, in 1482, he entered the service of Ludovico Sforza, where he was active as artist, architect and military engineer. Leonardo is a character in the novel, and Isabella desperately wanted to be immortalized in oil by the great "master of masters." However, Ludovico realized that he could only allow Leonardo to paint his sister-in-law after he painted Beatrice, who had no desire to sit for her portrait - especially for an artist who dissected cadavers. Both sisters vied to be Leonardo's patron. Excerpts from da Vinci's notebooks are interspersed with the narrative - an interesting literary device which enriches the plot.

As Beatrice and Isabella matured their petty rivalries diminished. Beatrice finally won the affection and allegiance of her powerful husband. With children came wisdom and serenity which allowed her, before she reached the age of twenty, to become an astute politician, an effective stateswoman and patron of the arts. Isabella, who had been jealous of her sister's powerful alliance and prosperous kingdom, accepted her own lot in life - one that was also enviable. After all, Isabella was to become known eventually as "The First Lady Of The Renaissance."

But the story doesn't end here - it only begins, really. Sixteenth century Italy was not a unified country but an area of powerful and independent city-states, especially Milan, Genoa, Venice, Florence, and Pisa. Milan, the greatest city in Lombardy, was widely regarded as the Mecca of Italian commerce, culture and fashion at that time. It is here that Beatrice presided over her court. Political strife was also rampant, especially the alliances, counteralliances, and regular betrayals surrounding the Italian Wars, which involved all the major states of western Europe and arose over a dynastic dispute concerning Naples.

Ludovico Sforza sought an ally against the Republic of Venice, and encouraged Charles VIII of France to invade Italy, using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples, then under Aragonese control, (his wife's beloved grandfather), as a pretext. And so began the Italian Wars, along with family estrangements and animosities, betrayals, intrigues, assassinations, invasions, etc.. And Beatrice and Isabella, in the middle of this historical drama, sometimes contributing to it, tried to survive with their children. Even in the midst of war, the women continued to encourage Leonardo and other artists of the period to produce and illuminate beauty for posterity.

Karen Essex breathes life into her characters, especially the two sisters d'Este and Ludovico. Her insight into the great Leonardo and his work, especially through the notebook entries, is extraordinary. The details about the painting of "The Last Supper" are alone worth the read. The author paints a vivid portrait, herself, of the lavish life at the courts of Milan and Mantua.

Intelligently written historical fiction and a terrific read!
JANA

I don't normally read historical fiction. I prefer to learn about the past from historical sources and well-researched biography. However, someone gave me Karen Essex' book Kleopatra, which was extremely vivid and intelligent, plus, TIME Magazine recommended this one, so I thought I'd give it a try. Leonardo's Swans is a rich tale of da Vinci's years in Milan as told through the points of view of the bold and brilliant Este sisters. It's a beautifully written portrait of the Renaissance as well as a unique, behind-the scenes investigation of the creation of Leonardo's most important paintings like "The Last Supper" and "The Virgin of the Rocks." The two sisters, rivaling for power, fame, and immortality, on a dangerous chessboard where the stakes are life and death, are unforgettable. The excerpts from Leonardo's notebooks, plus the fun scenes in which he frustrates his patrons by refusing to finish any of their "vanity projects" present a heretofore untold picture of the artist not as a great icon, or as a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but as a man. Full of fascinating facts and great descriptive language, I enjoyed this book on many levels.

After I read Karen Essex's latest novel Stealing Athena: A Novel I was convinced to go on and read the rest of her novels. I already had "Leonardo's Swans" which had been lingering in my book stack for quite a while so I picked it up.

I realize that this is an award winning, highly acclaimed novel and therefore this won't be the most popular review but I just didn't like this book. The story has the potential to be fascinating it's true-rival sisters fighting over prestige, art and husbands, wars that created revolutionary alliances among the Italians, and of course, Leonardo de Vinci. But for some reason I could never get drawn into this book and had to fight to finish pages and continue on. Eventually it became a battle and halfway through I surrendered.

Maybe it got better after that, I don't know. But for some reason this just didn't grab me. Since I know Essex is an amazing writer I suppose that it's a question to taste- but her style was so different in "Stealing Athena" that I could never adjust to the writing in this.

There was on thing I really did love about this book. The relationship between Isabella and Beatrice d'Este is really, really realistic. Though they do harbor jealousy for each other, begrudge each other nice things, and fight, they also stick up for each other and don't want the other to be hurt. It's the most honest sibling portrayal I've ever seen in a book and for that Essex should be commended.

Other than that-I just didn't like this book. But that doesn't mean you won't. So I won't recommend or not recommend for this one. Read a lot of reviews and figure it out for yourself.

Two stars.

Set in the turbulent 15th century, when great changes occur throughout the known world, the two d'Este sisters, daughters of Duke Ercole, are betrothed to two powerful men, the tentacles of the Inquisition spread from Spain to Italy, Christopher Columbus sets out to discover a new continent and the arts enjoy an unprecedented renaissance. Beatrice d'Este is promised to the influential and charismatic Ludovico Sforza, the future Duke of Milan; her one-year older sister, Isabella, is wed to Francesco Gonzoga, the Marquis of Mantua. Far more sophisticated and schooled in the female arts, Isabella is jealous of Beatrice's good fortune, her future husband and prosperous kingdom, the riches that await a young girl committed only to her equestrian obsessions. Over the years, the personal and political successes of the sisters' wax and wane, but in her new marriage, Beatrice's favor is in the ascension, as she is a fitting wife to her Ludovico, a crafty statesman with designs on extending his power to the Duchy of Milan.

The petty rivalries of youth pale as Beatrice and Isabella mature, both increasingly adept at the complex political machinations of the Italian city-states, the rise of the corrupt Borgia pope, his arch-enemy, Fra Savonarola and an incipient war with France and Germany for Milan that threatens all of Italy. Crowned in the lavish entertainments of the Renaissance, such noble women as Beatrice and Isabella are much admired for their accomplishments and statecraft, classic beauty the study of paintings. Artists are commissioned by wealthy patrons, the sole source of income for these creative souls. The most treasured artist in Milan is Leonardo daVinci, under contract to Ludovico Sforza, Il Moro. An artist of great skill and natural curiosity, Leonardo is admittedly a genius far beyond his times, his luminous paintings, sculptures and drawings much coveted by the nobility of Italy and France. As Isabella schemes to have Leonardo paint her portrait, Beatrice is intimidated by the great man's experiments with cadavers, yet both women realize the enormous influence of this artist: "The soul he means to evoke is his own." Under Sforza's patronage, Leonardo will create his most magnificent works, The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa and countless designs of weaponry and military fortifications.

While the sisters are eventually betrayed, not by one another, but by the men they have trusted, Isabel remains adamant that she will survive: "I am a woman who learned to live in a man's world." Courtly love remains idealized, female beauty the inspiration for valor and great works of art in Essex's novel of Renaissance Italy, the opulence and decadence of the great courts begun by the Medici's, where power and excess are the coin of the realm. Love, passion and betrayal exist in equal measures in this intimate portrait of family relations and the political affairs of the nobility, the period immortalized by the consummate skills of Leonardo daVinci, his canvas all of humanity. Leonardo alone resists the constraints of history, his vision beyond the small world to which he is confined: "Oh human misery! Of how many things do you make yourself the slave for money?" Luan Gaines/ 2006.