The Four Seasons: A Novel of Vivaldi's Venice [Paperback]

Laurel Corona (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 4, 2008

In glittering 18th-century Venice, music and love are prized above all else--and for two sisters coming of age, the city's passions blend in intoxicating ways.

Chiaretta and Maddalena are as different as night and day. The two sisters were abandoned as babies on the steps of the Ospedale della Pietß, Venice's world-famous foundling hospital and musical academy. High-spirited and rebellious, Chiaretta marries into a great aristocratic Venetian family and eventually becomes one of the most powerful women in Venice. Maddalena becomes a violin virtuoso and Antonio Vivaldi's muse. The Four Seasons is a rich, literary imagination of the world of 18th-century Venice and the lives and loves of two extraordinary women.

Praise for THE FOUR SEASONS

"Pop Vivaldi's masterpiece into the CD player, brew a pot of tea, and prepare to relinquish the rest of your afternoon. Corona brings Venice and Vivaldi to life, delivering a stirring story of love, ambition, and music that will keep you reading long after the last note of the concerto has ended."
--Lauren Willig, author of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

"Corona does a magnificent job of showing us the violent contradictions of life in 18th-century Venice, through the eyes of two musically gifted orphan sisters. Their relationships with music and particularly with the complex, enigmatic figure of Antonio Vivaldi are sensitively explored. This novel resists the easy clich and really succeeds in drawing a world that is both panoramic and intimate."
--Susanne Dunlap, author of Liszt's Kiss

"Music and the dangerous, exquisite world of 18th-century Venice form the setting of this poetic, sensual story of two orphaned sisters. The Four Seasons is a beautifully written addition to the handful of fascinating novels about women and the arts in this most intriguing of cities."
--Stephanie Cowell, author of Marrying Mozart

"Laurel Corona's The Four Seasons is a poignant tale of two sisters, layered exquisitely over the exotic world of brilliant priest/composer Vivaldi and his 18th-century Venice. The result: a vibrant crescendo of hearts and history."
--Karen Harper, author of The Last Boleyn and The First Princess of Wales

"I've never been to Venice, played a violin, or for that matter carried a tune, but after reading The Four Seasons I feel that I've experienced all three, and through them come to a better understanding of the many forms love takes. Brava, Laurel Corona."
--Sally Gunning, author of The Widow's War and Bound

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The music students who inspired Vivaldi and the city where they performed the great composer's works come to life in Corona's adult fiction debut. In 1695, three-year-old Maddalena and her infant sister, Chiaretta, are abandoned on the doorstep of Venice's Pieta foundling hospital. Groomed for the Pieta's renowned music academy, Chiaretta, with her pretty blonde looks and beautiful voice, earns a place as celebrated soloist and marriage to an aristocrat. Dark, quiet Maddalena remains in the shadows until she takes up the violin, and a controversial musician and cleric, Antonio Vivaldi, becomes her teacher. Vivaldi represses his romantic feeling for Maddalena and instead writes concert pieces into which they can both put their hearts. According to Corona, women like the orphaned sisters inspired the fervor and brilliance of Vivaldi's music. Fans of Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring will welcome another novel about how a masterpiece is created. Corona shines when showing musicians at work, especially through secondary characters both real (opera star Anna Giro) and imagined (violin teacher Silvia the Rat). (Nov.)
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From Booklist

Corona’s richly historical novel imagines the lives of two sisters born in eighteenth-century Venice and left on the steps of the Ospedale della Pietà, a foundling hospital and musical academy. Each sister develops a breathtaking musical ability—the younger, more vibrant Chiaretta becomes a beautiful soloist; the elder, quieter Maddalena is a master of the violin. As their lives progress, the sisters find themselves on wildly different paths—Chiaretta marries into a wealthy Venetian family, and Maddalena studies under the brilliant composer and contentious priest Antonio Vivaldi, with whom she develops a forbidden attraction. Yet their strong sisterly bond remains indestructible. Corona covers the full spectrum of Venetian life as she crafts alluring scenes of Chiaretta floating on the gondola at her summer villa with her cavaliere servente, sharply contrasting with Maddalena’s modest quarters and chaste way of life. Complete with a pronunciation guide and glossary, this charming, exquisite, and poetic novel embodies the dazzling light of Venice and the heavenly music of the coro as it portrays two orphaned sisters full of ambition, heart, and steadfast love. --Annie McCormick

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 389 pages
• Publisher: Voice (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401309267
• ISBN-13: 978-1401309268
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of PENELOPE'S DAUGHTER (Berkley Books 2010),THE FOUR SEASONS, a novel of Vivaldi's Venice (Hyperion/VOICE 2008), and FINDING EMILIE (S&S/Gallery 2011). I also wrote UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH: A HOLOCAUST STORY OF LOVE AND PARTISAN RESISTANCE (St. Martin's 2008). Please visit my website and blog at www.laurelcorona.com, and my special website for PENELOPE'S DAUGHTER, "Xanthe's World," at www.pensdaughter.blogspot.com. You can check for appearances in your area at the bottom of this page. I can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail].

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Involving and convincing October 26, 2008

By Jeff Cotton

Format:Paperback

This is the third novel in just over a year dealing with the life of Vivaldi. This one begins by telling the story of two orphans left with the Ospedale della Pieta. These sisters rise in the ranks of the famed female musicians there - Chiaretta as a singer whose looks eventually net her an aristocratic husband and her sister Maddalena as a violinist and favourite of Vivaldi who remains cloistered. The author puts some heat into this latter attachment, on both sides, whilst never quite letting the relationship become a sacking offence. This is suggestive of the composer-priest's much gossiped-of relationship with Anna Giro, but by inventing a new character the author's poetic license can be more fully used. She does this to tell us the story of the two girls' lives, loves and feelings in a way that both feels authentic and keeps us caring. The love and excitement of music are well evoked too. An easy and moving read.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, but a little derivative October 23, 2008

By K. Huff VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The Four Seasons is set against the backdrop of early-18th century Venice. In it, two sisters are sent to the Ospedale della Pieta, a world-famous orphanage and musical academy. Chiaretta and Maddalena are nothing alike: one marries into one of the wealthiest families in Venice, while the other becomes a musical prodigy and muse for Antonio Vivaldi, the "Red Monk."

It's a good idea, but we've definitely seen all of this before: Barbara Quick's novel, Vivaldi's Virgins: A Novel, is set in the exact same place with nearly the exact same people, and Rosalind Laker's The Venetian Mask: A Novel is set in the same place seventy-five years later, but with the same romantic themes as The Four Seasons. And Corona's writing style isn't as captivating as Laker's is. Corona's descriptions are a little vague, and the city of Venice is a little static, as opposed to the vibrant city it really is.

That said, however, I enjoyed the story. It's derivative, yes, but highly addictive; despite all the book's flaws, I couldn't stop reading. The beginning of the novel is a little shaky and confusing (girls are left at the steps of the orphanage, then go out to the countryside for a reason that wasn't made entirely clear, then come back to the Pieta later), but it picks up once you've read about fifty pages or so. The strongest parts of this book are the musical descriptions; it's clear that Corona is passionate about this subject.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing Surprise November 10, 2008

By Taniya Barrows

Format:Paperback

I prejudged, and I was wrong!

I was in a foul mood the day I started Four Season. When I plopped onto my couch and began examining the exterior of the book, I began to get a sinking sensation (yes, you could insert the age old book cover cliché here). I loved the concept of the plot; two orphaned sisters raised in the Venetian orphanage Vivaldi taught at and composed for and how the three lives intersected and influenced each other. But I have been burned before and something on this jacket cover (I can't really articulate what) gave me the suspicion that the pages inside held the expected: superficial characters, a drawn out plot line and the sensationalistic and predictable subjugation and use of women in 18th century Italy!

Wow, was I cranky or what?! I was also very wrong!

Three pages...

That's all it took, just three pages and I was hooked! I honestly started this book in the absolute worst mindset. I even told myself to just power through it and skim if I needed to. Yet, three short pages into this book all of that melted away. I was now emotionally invested in these two young girls who only had each other in a frightening world. I had to keep reading - not skimming, reading! I had to know that my girls were going to be okay. I needed to know that someone would be there to look out for them and shepherd them through a society that didn't exactly view women as much more than pretty things that produced heirs; and if she wasn't pretty, a nunnery was the best she could hope for.

The most remarkable part of this book is the growth of these two women. I found it easy in the beginning to think of them as "my girls." Each moment I had to sit and read I was able to check in on "my girls." However, as the story progressed and they were growing up, Maddalena and Chiaretta could no longer belong to anyone, not even the reader.

The Four Seasons is a magnificent surprise. Read it, I urge you! It is a story of life and the journey we all travel from childhood to adulthood artfully told. Two sisters diverge on the road of life and follow their own paths yet remain true to each other. Laurel Corona has given us a beautiful lens to watch these incredible girls grow into the remarkable women anyone would wish for as a sister, a wife, a friend. Corona even rejects the stereotype of the domineering man who must be overcome and beaten down. Men, women, the Catholic Church, the whispered customs of 18th century Venetian nobility and a demanding and controversial composer of the day are all respectfully represented and honored in this beautiful book.

The Four Seasons should be placed on the bookshelf next to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, another book without a major conflict or dramatic plot twists. Both of these books allow you to follow along as the protagonists grow and learn about the world around them. These are books on the study of life and break free of the formulaic and expected.