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Title details for The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer - Available

The Scribe of Siena

by Melodie Winawer
Cassandra Campbell
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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"Like Outlander with an Italian accent." —Real Simple

"A detailed historical novel, a multifaceted mystery, and a moving tale of improbable love." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

A NEW YORK POST MUST-READ BOOK

Readers of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring...will be swept away by the spell of medieval Siena" (Library Journal, starred review) in this transporting love story and gripping historical mystery.
Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother's affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined—a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city.

As Beatrice explores the evidence further, she uncovers the journal and paintings of the fourteenth-century artist Gabriele Accorsi. But when she finds a startling image of her own face, she is suddenly transported to the year 1347. She awakens in a Siena unfamiliar to her, one that will soon be hit by the Plague.

Yet when Beatrice meets Accorsi, something unexpected happens: she falls in love—not only with Gabriele, but also with the beauty and cadence of medieval life. As the Plague and the ruthless hands behind its trajectory threaten not only her survival but also Siena's very existence, Beatrice must decide in which century she belongs.

The Scribe of Siena is the captivating story of a brilliant woman's passionate affair with a time and a place that captures her in an impossibly romantic and dangerous trap—testing the strength of fate and the bonds of love.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 16, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508230076
      • File size: 466891 KB
      • Duration: 16:12:41

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 13, 2017
      Winawer’s debut is a detailed historical novel, a multifaceted mystery, and a moving tale of improbable love. When Beatrice Trovato’s brother suddenly passes away in Italy, she leaves her New York home and demanding work as a neurosurgeon to sort out his affairs and retrieve his research on the Black Death in Siena. What she doesn’t expect is to be pulled into his studies, as she compulsively attempts to complete what he started. Stumbling across fresco painter Gabriele Accorsi, who mysteriously seems to have painted her into his work, she finds herself physically transported across time into the 14th century, just before the plague strike. The vivid descriptions of the people, way of life, food, and other details of medieval Italy deepen the plot, making the book a truly immersive experience. The novel dramatically brings to life a period in Siena’s history that is still overwhelmingly neglected by historians—it is still unclear why Siena was ravaged by the plague in ways unseen in other Italian cities. Winawer has created a prodigious, vibrant tale of past and present that transports readers and fills in the historical gaps. This is a marvelous work of research and invention.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Cassandra Campbell's performance transports listeners to medieval Italy as this story straddles modern-day and fourteenth-century Siena. As neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato is transported from the present back to the Middle Ages, Campbell's well-considered diction and vocal timing create suspense, while her Italian accents for various characters and place names, though not always perfectly accurate, bring the story to life. Though this time-travel story requires a certain suspension of disbelief due to a number of convenient coincidences, its exploration of medieval life and love is compelling. Campbell's narration is an engrossing complement to the story, helping the listener to vividly imagine life as it was in that long-ago time. S.E.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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