Publication Date: June 16, 2015 Publisher: Art and Words Editions eBook; 114p Genre: Historical Fiction/Graphic Novel New expanded and revised anniversary edition. Finally available for iPad and Kindle.
"To truly love another, you must follow the lover's path wherever it may take you . . ." Filamena Ziani is the much younger sister of the most famous courtesan in sixteenth-century Venice, Tullia Ziani. Orphaned as an infant, Filamena has come of age bent like a branch to her sister's will, sheltered and lonely in the elegant but stifling confines of their palazzo by the sea. Then a dark-haired stranger offers a gift that will change the course of her life forever: a single ripe plum, and an invitation to walk along the lover's path, wherever it may lead. THE LOVER'S PATH, a moving tale of forbidden love, is a romantic epic told in multiple layers. Through a novel combination of Filamena's narrative, famous love stories from history and mythology, and sumptuously ornate illustrations, Filomena's path is beautifully described and, finally, stunningly revealed. Praised by The New York Times Book Review for her "quality of myth and magic " Kris Waldherr brings to life a remarkable period in Venetian history using art and words. Her glorious celebration of romance, the feminine spirit, and the power of love to transform will inspire and move readers everywhere.
Praise for The Lover's Path
"THE LOVER'S PATH is beautiful in every way; not only is the story of the girl's secret and ultimately dangerous love wonderfully told, but the exquisite illustrations and layout make you feel that you have truly fallen into old Venice with its longing and eroticism. Prepare to be lifted into another time and place and discover secrets long guarded. That one extraordinarily talented writer/artist/designer could have created this whole world is almost not to be believed but it is so. You must own this lovely, lovely book! Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude and Camille and Marrying Mozart"The Loverís Path is a visual and literary feast.... The star-crossed lovers are a celebrated courtesan's virginal and over-protected young sister and a cardinal's illegitimate son. The lovers in the book are linked mythically and thematically to the archetypal lovers on the Lover's Path: Dante and Beatrice, Isis and Osiris, Tristan and Isolde, Orpheus and Eurydice, and ultimately Eros and Psyche.... Haunting." Mary Sharratt, author of Daughters of the Witching Hill
"Prepare to be transported to 16th century Venice from the first page. This novel is a feast, a full-color picture book for adults that tells a wrenching story of eternal love". This beautiful fable reminded me of Erica Jong"s Serenissima."NPR Books
"With this illustrated novel, Waldherr has spun a wondrous story spilling over with mythological figures, with tarot cards and personal letters. You're pulled into a vortex of a 16th century romance centered on Filamena Ziani, the younger sister of a famous courtesan in Venice,. Waldherr, who based her novel on a real-life courtesan, also created the illustrations for her book."The Albuquerque Journal
"Voluptuous illustration and enthralling narrative ... in this extraordinary testament to the strength of the feminine spirit."WNBC/B(u)y the Book
"Kris Waldherr's The Lover's Path plunges readers into the mysterious and exhilarating world of sixteenth-century Venice.... A visual adventure."Women in the Arts, the Magazine of the National Museum of Women in the Arts
The Lover's Path Available At
Kindle Fire format (Deluxe edition with full color graphics) Kindle format (Optimized for b/w and smaller screen size) iPad format (Deluxe edition with interactive full color graphics) iPhone format (Optimized for small screen size)
About the Author
Kris Waldherr is an award-winning author, illustrator, and designer whose many books include Doomed Queens and The Book of Goddesses. She is also the creator of the Goddess Tarot, which has nearly a quarter of a million copies in print. Waldherrís illustrations have been exhibited in many galleries and museums, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Mazza Museum, and the Ruskin Library. She lives and works in Brooklyn with her husband and their young daughter. Visit her online at KrisWaldherr.com.
You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
The Lover's Path Blog Tour Schedule
Tuesday, June 16 Review at Unabridged Chick Review & Guest Post at Unshelfish Excerpt at Let Them Read Books Wednesday, June 17 Review at CelticLady's Reviews Review at Peeking Between the Pages Interview & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick Thursday, June 18 Review & Excerpt at Oh, for the Hook of a Book! Friday, June 19 Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book! Spotlight & Excerpt at Raven Haired Girl Monday, June 22 Review at A Book Drunkard Tuesday, June 23 Review & Guest Post at Book Lovers Paradise Wednesday, June 24 Review & Guest Post at The Emerald City Book Review Thursday, June 25 Review at Broken Teepee Friday, June 26 Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past Monday, June 29 Spotlight at A Literary Vacation Tuesday, June 30 Review at Just One More Chaptermy thoughts:
A delightfully charming novella. Richly illustrated, (the pictures are worth price of the book themselves) and wonderfully told. The combination of mythological lovers, and classic tales before each chapter enhance the story. Filomena is wonderful, innocent character. You will be drawn in by her innocence and charm.
I made the mistake of reading this book on my kindle paperwhite. The black and white illustrations were suboptimal. I was able to upload the book to my iPad...what a difference. If you read this book on an ereader, make certain you can access the illustrations in color.
I enjoyed this short book, and was left wanting more.
5/5 stars,
AN EXCERPT FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT
Chapter 1: Grace
The fiaba of the lover’s path begins almost two decades ago as the story of two sisters, alike as doves in appearance, but different as water and wine in temperament and experience.
At that time, I was only a girl of sixteen. For as long as I could remember, my sister Tullia and I lived in a palazzo set in Venice, a labyrinth of a city where we heard the sea murmur its music day and night. This palazzo was furnished by my sister through her extraordinary talents and beauty. It glittered with golden mosaics, and was graced with sumptuous paintings and intricate tapestries. Within this palazzo we were aided by servants who felt affection for us. Among them were Caterina, who was Tullia’s ruffiana—her procuress and confidant—and Caterina’s daughter Laura, who was my playmate as well as my maid. And it was there in this palazzo that I bent to my sister’s rule, a sapling recognizing the sun’s sovereignty.
As I write of Tullia, I will try not to be harsh. I know many have called her a mysterious beauty, cool in the use of her considerable intelligence and allure. In all honesty, my sister was as elusive to me as she was to others. Nonetheless, I hope time has bestowed upon me a measure of wisdom as I remind myself of her unavoidable influence upon me. After all, Tullia was my first vision in this life. My earliest memory is of her bending over to soothe me as I sobbed the inconsolable tears of childhood, her blonde hair a dazzle of light around a divinity. Unlike most children, my first word was not madre or padre. It was sorella, sister, in honor of Tullia, for our parents had drowned a year after my birth, leaving my sister as the elder of us by fourteen years to raise and provide for me.
Despite her reputation as the most illustrious courtesan in Venice, Tullia shielded my eyes from the carnal nature of love; I saw little that would make a nun blush. But she educated me in other ways, teaching me to read and write in Italian and Latin, a priceless gift bestowed upon few women, for which I am forever grateful. She also tutored me in the art of music, for which I quickly showed love and aptitude. My precocious talents soon won me the affectionate soprannome, or nickname, of la filomela—the nightingale—so similar to my given name of Filamena.
If it was because of my sister that I had an active mind, a voice to sing, food to eat, and a roof over my head, it was also because of my sister I was made to stay inside my home after I turned twelve. Noting that I was of an age where men might approach me because of her profession, Tullia did not allow me to leave the palazzo unless I was dressed plainly and accompanied by an elder servant. These occasions arose less and less frequently as time passed. No matter how much I begged for freedom, Tullia ignored my pleas. She would explain to me in patient tones that my isolation was necessary. It was her hope that, in time, people would see me as a woman separate from her, rather than as the sister of a courtesan. This was small consolation, for the loneliness that colored my hours felt unending. At sixteen, I was of an age when most young women had already married and borne children, or entered a convent to do God’s work. For myself there was nothing—only an abstract promise that might be fulfilled in the future if my sister willed it so.
What else do I remember about my life at that time? Sometimes when I was alone in my room, I would let a feather fall from my window into the sea. I’d watch it float away into the sea for as long as I could, imagining the countries it might reach—faraway lands I wished I could visit one day, unnamed countries I could only imagine.
I also recall the brightness of gold ducats and of my sister’s hair. The insistent chatter of baby sparrows clustered about my feet as I sang inside the walled garden behind our palazzo. The precious show of sun upon my face. The spicy perfume of oranges from our garden. The briny smell of the sea on warm summer afternoons. The starched linen of my plain brown cloak against my young, tender skin—the cloak that hid me from others’ eyes on the increasingly rare occasions when I ventured into the world. Most of all, I remember the confusion of innocence, gratitude, anger, and guilt that infused my emotions toward the sister I loved yet resented.
Now as I look back, I think Tullia truly wished our fiaba of two sisters to remain as it was forever—to divert time like water from its path. But this, of course, was impossible. To preserve my innocence, a courtesan such as my sister would have had to layer restriction upon restriction as if they were blankets upon a winter bed. While she may have thought she was protecting me from the bitter cold, she only made the snow outside my window look all the more enticing.
I began to think of escape.
In the May of 1526, I celebrated my sixteenth birthday, still trapped within my home by my sister’s will. By then, it had been well over six months since I’d last set foot outside our palazzo beyond the walled garden. Shortly after my birthday came La Sensa, the annual celebration marking the marriage of Venice to the sea. Despite the cruel illness that had taken so many lives earlier that spring, my sister still held her infamous annual feast. Many considered this unseemly, but Tulla’s La Sensa feast was necessary to solidify her standing and desirability in society. It was for this celebration that she would compose a poem praising the powers of love and set it to music; I would perform this song to the accompaniment of her lute.
I looked forward to these recitals as a prisoner yearns to glimpse the first anemones of spring from her jail window. I loved the intense study involved in mastering new music as much as I loved the transfixed attention of my sister’s guests as I sang for them. While I did not otherwise participate in Tullia’s entertainments—she would not allow me, for by morning’s wake these celebrations often disintegrated into private ones of a more sensual sort—after I finished singing, I would watch from the back of the musicians’ gallery, set high on the wall of the great hall. I was careful not to let the candlelight reveal me as I eagerly spied upon the world forbidden to me.
However, by the spring of my sixteenth year, my joy in music was tempered with steely resolve: I would use my music to free myself from my sister.
Though over two decades have passed since this night, I still remember how I sat inside my chamber the evening of the feast, trying with little success to calm my trilling nerves. Caterina had confided that a great cardinal was coming to La Sensa, one reputed to especially love music. I would perform for him and more than one hundred guests. He would hear me sing. Perhaps I could gain his favor, like so many musicians before me. He could champion my art, bring me to court. I would become a virtuosa, a great musician, and make my way in the world.
As I prepared for La Sensa, I felt the weight of the hopes I dared not express to anyone but myself. My maid, Laura, helped me dress. I braided my hair myself. As I twisted it into a knot behind my neck, a sinuous perfume curled about me. Lilies, roses, vanilla....
“Like two doves are we,” Tullia announced softly, standing behind me as I stared at myself in the mirror. “Both light and serene.”
I exhaled her perfume and looked up. The mirror reflected two golden-hair sisters with grey eyes. One wore a simple gown the color of cream, her braided hair bare of ornaments; the other, red brocade embroidered with silver thread, the full sleeves of her dress slashed with silver ribbon, her curls woven with pearls. I felt as plain as Tullia was beautiful. A sparrow next to a bird of paradise.
“I know you’ll sing your loveliest tonight, Filamena,” she said. “Though I remain uncertain how wise it is to allow you to perform....”
I couldn’t bear to answer; I feared any protest would invite attention to what I most desired. My heart sped as my sister curved her long neck, so much like mine, to rest her soft cool cheek against my shoulder. Could she guess my thoughts? Apparently not, for she only smiled at our reflection in the mirror.
“Shall we?” she asked after smoothing my hair. “The hour is late.”
Tullia took my hand to lead me to the musicians’ gallery, where I was to remain unseen though not unheard. I followed her, cold with desperation.
From my perch above the great hall, I looked down onto the celebration already underway. I stared at the cardinal, resplendent in his scarlet robes as he held court before my sister’s guests, willing his eyes toward mine. Though the hall was full, there were fewer guests than usual, no doubt because of the sickness that still lingered in Venice. Some wore large-nosed masks of gold and silver, as if they could deceive death by hiding their identities. Others, their faces bared, were less cautious. Dressed in costly silks and velvets, they milled about the large wood and marble table set in the center of the great hall. Gracing the table were some of the voluptuous offerings for which my sister’s celebrations were famed: platters of fowl and fish and bread, with rose petals arranged like a ruddy snowfall around each dish; rare fruits preserved in cordial, nuts glistening in honey, and numerous silver flasks of wine.
Upon my sister’s cue, servants extinguished half the candles, plunging the room into a golden dusk. Everyone fell silent.
Tullia rose and greeted her guests with a graceful speech. Then she looked up at me, hidden in the musician’s gallery, and nodded.
As she plucked the strings of her lute, my voice soared forth.
AND FOR A SPECIAL BONUS: A GUEST POST FROM KRIS WALDHERR
Guest Post: The Honest Courtesan in The Lover’s Path
My inspiration for The Lover’s Path arrived from an unexpected source: the life of Tullia d’Aragona[link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tullia_d%27Aragona], an Italian sixteenth century courtesan admired for her wit, lute playing, and glittering salons that attracted the bright and powerful. Indeed, it is d’Aragona’s beautiful portrait that graces my book cover.
When I began work on The Lover’s Path, I initially intended it to be an illustrated collection of love stories. However, after reading about d’Aragona in Georgiana Masson’s fascinating Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance, I was moved to add a framing device where these love stories were related by the lovelorn sister of Tullia Ziani, a fictional courtesan loosely based on d’Aragona.
In sixteenth century Venice, a high ranking courtesan such as d’Aragona was known as a cortigiana onesta, or an “honest courtesan”. The Honest Courtesan occupied a different social realm than the usual streetwalker. Though both accepted payment for sexual intimacies, the Honest Courtesan sported breeding, education, beauty, wit, and talents beyond their abilities to please between the sheets. They often wielded celebrity and political influence, granting them an unusual power for women in Italian society.
So, how was business conducted by the Honest Courtesan in sixteenth century Venice? First off, the Catalogo de tutte le principal et pi honorate cortigiane di Venetia (“Catalog of the principal honest courtesans of Venice”) gave the nitty-gritty on these elite ladies of the night: where to find them, how much to pay, and who to contact. The Honest Courtesan also used savvy PR, or “branding” if you will, to build her fame. These efforts could include posing for paintings, writing poetry, and other entertainments. Here’s how I described this process in The Lover’s Path:
“Tulla’s La Sensa celebration was necessary to solidify her standing and desirability in society. It was for this event that she would compose a poem praising the powers of love and set it to music....”
Finally, the Honest Courtesan wouldn’t offer her intimate pleasures without extensive and expensive wooing. Again, from The Lover’s Path:
“Within my sister’s private chambers—rooms that led from the great hall through one richly appointed room after another; rooms that led to the ultimate destination of her bedchamber, where only a few suitors could hope to enter after months of courtship and substantial gifts—Tullia was being painted that day as Venus, the embodiment of love.”
Alas, the path of the Honest Courtesan was often more difficult than it was glamorous. Punitive sumptuary laws enacted in 1543 forbade courtesans from wearing pearls and other luxury items in public, thus condemning them as common prostitutes. In Florence, they were forced to wear yellow veils in public, making it considerably more difficult for the Honest Courtesan to wield her seductive spell. To avoid penalization by these laws, the more enterprising found ways to reinvent themselves as poets and intellectuals. For example, d’Aragona authored a book in 1547 entitled Dialogo della infinità d’amore (Dialogue on the Infinities of Love). Veronica Franco[link: http://dornsife.usc.edu/veronica-franco/poems-and-letters/ ], another famed cortigiana onesta, followed a similar route by publishing her poems, which remain in print to this day.
However, jealous lovers posed a more dangerous threat to the Honest Courtesan. The brutal horror of the trentuno, a serial rape by thirty-one men, went beyond the emotional and physical trauma. It ensured that the courtesan would be exposed to venereal disease. Violence came in other ways. Antea Sfegiata, whose beauty inspired the artist Parmigianiano to paint one of his most famed portraits, had her face was slashed by a rejected lover, permanently disfiguring her. From then on, many courtesans lived in fear of the sfegia, an act whose name gamed infamy beyond the woman who first suffered it.
As for my fictional Honest Courtesan in The Lover’s Path, her fate is much kinder than many of her sisters-in-trade. But that’s another story.
TULLIA DARAGONA
ANTEA SFEGIATA
VERONICA FRANCO
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Kris Waldherr [link: http://www.kriswaldherr.com] is the author and illustrator of The Lover’s Path: An Illustrated Novella of Venice, which is now available for the first time as an e-book. She is also the author of Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, The Book of Goddesses, and many other books and card decks. Learn more at LoversPathBook.com [link: http://www.loverspathbook.com].
