"Taking a new approach and a wide overview, González shows the wide variety of talents and endeavors among creative Venetian women through the ages."

--Claire Fontijn, author of Desperate Measures: The Life and Music of Antonia Padoani Bembo.

 

 

 

“Kathleen Gonzalez gives us a series of fascinating portraits of Venetian women from the Middle Ages to the end of the Republic. Some of them are already well-known figures but many will be new to most readers; whether they are nuns or courtesans, painters or poets, scholars or oarswomen, Gonzalez brings them to life for the reader, showing a full understanding of the great obstacles they had to overcome to achieve their place in history. The book, like her earlier ones, is remarkable not only for its wide-ranging scholarship but also for its enthusiasm for all things Venetian.”

--Gregory Dowling, author of In Venice and in the Veneto with Lord Byron.

 

 

 

"A world of beautiful, talented, determined women, each challenging the patriarchal rules of Venice in her own way, showing the men what women can do. Always attentive to their full selves, Gonzalez brings these women to life not just in the public squares, and calli of Venice, but also in their private spaces, with their families, friends and lovers, alone with their hopes and fears and desires.  She tells their stories with affection, admiration and an infectious passion."  

--Nancy Isenberg, author-editor of Caro Memmo, the love letters of Giustiniana Wynne.

 

 

 

"I feel as if I've been invited into the salons of these women and am a family friend, so personal and inviting are Gonzalez's descriptions. Well-researched and warmly written, Kathleen Ann Gonzalez gives me a sense that I've known each Beautiful Woman in Venice before. I can't wait to get back to the city -- I suspect I will see one of these extraordinary ladies out of the corner of my eye."

--Candace Magner, professor and author of Barbara Strozzi: La Virtuosisimma Cantatrice blog.