In the cradle of art and faith, a compelling drama of love and sacrifice. Rome, 1560s. In the midst of the Vatican'ss struggle for power, a powerful prelate is unable to conquer his passion for the beautiful daughter of a Jewish apothecary. So begins the epic love story of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Rebecca that costs the cardinal the papacy.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Corruption is nothing new: Maddalena follows the character of Alessandro, an unscrupulous churchman. -- The Trenton Times, February 3, 2006
If you liked The Da Vinci Code, this one may work for you, too. -- Donna Bird, The Greenmanreview
Maddalena set in Renaisance Italy. -- The New York Times, December 11, 2005
Scandal and Love in the Renaissance: story of Jewish apothecary's daughter and her tumultuous love affair with Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. -- The Star Ledger, April 13, 2006
Siroka does a first-rate job crystallizing the greed, betrayal, and passion of Renaisance Rome. -- Historical Novels Review, November 2005
The author deftly explores the cardinal's illicit love for Maddalena. -- Bookviews, June 2005
The invention of Maddalena is an original and audacious idea... [set] in the very familiar streets of Rome... even Florence. -- Dacos Crifó, Professor, Université Libre, Brussels
Within few pages the reader is involved in a beautiful, credible love story and experiences Italy of 500 years ago. -- Philip F. O'Connor, Chair, Pulitzer Prize Board for Letters, 1994
If you liked The Da Vinci Code, this one may work for you, too. -- Donna Bird, The Greenmanreview
Maddalena set in Renaisance Italy. -- The New York Times, December 11, 2005
Scandal and Love in the Renaissance: story of Jewish apothecary's daughter and her tumultuous love affair with Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. -- The Star Ledger, April 13, 2006
Siroka does a first-rate job crystallizing the greed, betrayal, and passion of Renaisance Rome. -- Historical Novels Review, November 2005
The author deftly explores the cardinal's illicit love for Maddalena. -- Bookviews, June 2005
The invention of Maddalena is an original and audacious idea... [set] in the very familiar streets of Rome... even Florence. -- Dacos Crifó, Professor, Université Libre, Brussels
Within few pages the reader is involved in a beautiful, credible love story and experiences Italy of 500 years ago. -- Philip F. O'Connor, Chair, Pulitzer Prize Board for Letters, 1994
From the Inside Flap
IN THE CRADLE OF ART AND FAITH, A COMPELLING DRAMA OF LOVE AND SACRIFICE
A RENAISSANCE SCHOLAR TELLS THE TALE OF TITIAN’S ST. MARY MAGDALEN AS NEVER TOLD BEFORE
Rome, 1560s. In the midst of the Vatican’s struggle for power—weakened by corruption not unlike the scandals of today—a powerful prelate is unable to conquer his passion for the beautiful daughter of a Jewish apothecary. So begins the epic love story of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Rebecca, a love that eventually costs the cardinal the papacy.
Eva Jana Siroka paints a richly sensuous canvas of sixteenth-century Rome in which art, music, science, and religion come vividly alive in a story of power, passion, betrayal, and greed. Based on historical research, Maddalena invites the reader to see Michelangelo’s frescoes, hear Palestrina's music, and feel the religious fervor of Rome’s 1575 Jubilee year.
An illustrated novel that reproduces in color twenty-three stunning, original watercolors by the author, Maddalena engagingly immerses us in the heroine’s conversion to Christianity and dedication to Farnese, who is unable—unwilling—to spare his love from being burned at the stake during the horrifying excesses of the Inquisition.
A Renaissance art historian, Ms. Siroka has written a compelling and heartfelt novel that delves into the passions and follies of prelates and paupers alike, in the most exciting city in the world during one of its most tumultuous times.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An engaging and thoroughly entertaining read,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Maddalena (The Golden Tripolis Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)
The debut novel of author and artist Eva Jana Siroka, Maddalena is the first volume of "The Golden Tripolis" trilogy and based on an historical character as the center piece of this love story set in 16th century Rome. Bartholomaeus Spranger (Berti to his friends) is young, handsome, a 20-something Flemish painter, and determined to live his life to the fullest by drinking, feasting, and whoring amidst the brothels and palaces of the Eternal City. Maddalena is a converted Jewish who is the subject of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese's lust in an ages of staggering corruption within the Catholic Church. These are the characters around which the novel evolves and revolves. An engaging and thoroughly entertaining read, Maddalena is enhanced with two dozen full color artworks by the author. With meticulous attention to historical detail that rises to the level of true scholarship, and with her undeniably talent for originality and storytelling, Eva Jana Siroka's Maddalena will leave her readers looking eagerly toward her next foray into fiction which will be titled Bartholomaeus, the second book of a trilogy and which will focus on the man who became the favorite erotic painter for Emperor Rudolf in the heyday of imperial Prague.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the tapestry of Roman life,
This review is from: Maddalena (The Golden Tripolis Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)
Start reading Maddalena and you begin to peel back layers of history, revealing what has been known only to scholars and researchers. Learn of events and personal interactions as they may have unfolded in the days of the Italian Inquisition. Fifteenth century Rome comes alive -- popes, cardinals, artists, healers, courtesans -- all combine to weave an intriguing tapestry of life at that time, along with possible reasons for the happenings we view as history.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Historical Fiction at Its Best,
By
This review is from: Maddalena (The Golden Tripolis Trilogy, Book 1) (Hardcover)
If you liked The Da Vinci Code--or any other historically-based novel for that matter--I definitely recommend Maddalena. It's supremely well-written and the characterizations are rich and compelling. You actually get a sense of what it must have felt like to live in the complicated world of 16th-century Rome, during the harshest days of the Catholic Inquisition. The author brings this tale of corruption within the Catholic Church vividly to life, in a way that's almost sensual--the gluttony, the lust, the obsessive love of its characters, particularly Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, based on the true illegitimate grandson of Pope Paul III. A stunningly rich tapestry of day-to-day life in Michelangelo's Rome and a real page turner to boot. Hard to put down once you pick it up. Can't wait to read anything the author writes next.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Monna Rebecca sat on her flower cart, waiting for the sunrise. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
padre zio, gran cardinale Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Monna Lena, Don Alfonso, Monna Alba, Monna Rebecca, Don Clovio, Our Lord, Holy Father, Monna Chiara, San Oreste, Monna Piacenza, Don Fulvio, Don Giaccomo, Eva Jana Siroka, Santa Maria, Don Diego, Cardinal Farnese, Don Mercati, Jesus Christ, Pietro Portinari, Santo Spirito, Don Theophilos, Madonna Isabella, Don Lodovico, Mother Church, Alessandro Farnese New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Monna Rebecca sat on her flower cart, waiting for the sunrise. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
padre zio, gran cardinale Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Monna Lena, Don Alfonso, Monna Alba, Monna Rebecca, Don Clovio, Our Lord, Holy Father, Monna Chiara, San Oreste, Monna Piacenza, Don Fulvio, Don Giaccomo, Eva Jana Siroka, Santa Maria, Don Diego, Cardinal Farnese, Don Mercati, Jesus Christ, Pietro Portinari, Santo Spirito, Don Theophilos, Madonna Isabella, Don Lodovico, Mother Church, Alessandro Farnese New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 5
books:
- Fra Angelico (Dolphin Art Books) by Luciano Berti on 4 pages
- What If? by Shari Low on page 56
- Last Judgment by R. Hugo on page 155
- St. Augustine (FL) (Images of America) by Maggi Smith Hall and on page 66
- The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints, Vol. 1 by Jacobus de Voragine on page 192
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