Synopses & Reviews
My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor's army blew a hole in the wall of God's eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.
Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant's epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid.
With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her.
Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights, to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan's court. But Fiammetta and Bucino's greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all.
A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the world's greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.
Review
"The novel's plot is not particularly tight, but there are some great set-pieces....Otherwise, this amiable, intelligent story ambles along pretty much of its own accord, toward a good surprise at the end." Philippa Stockley, The Washington Post
Review
"Dunant offers another lush and intelligent piece of historical fiction....Dunant is the kind of writer a reader will follow anywhere, trusting completely in her ability both to bring a time and place to life and to tell an enthralling story." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"It is rare that fiction writing and research intertwine as seamlessly as they do here. The portrait that Dunant paints of Renaissance Venice sparkles...and the story herein is perfect in its portrayal of human imperfection..." Library Journal
Review
"[D]eftly written, reads easily, and moves smoothly forward." Providence Journal
Review
"Dunant's characters...remain the heart and soul of the book....And in the end, it's the lady and her dwarf who dazzle and seduce us. We become their humble servants, in thrall to them until the very last page." Newsday
Review
"[T]he novel's weakness is in its rococo meanderings, as if Dunant had lost her thread through the labyrinth and tried to write about too many things." New York Times
Review
"[A] plausible portrait of life in 16th-century Italy." Houston Chronicle
Review
"[I]ntelligent, informative..." Miami Herald
Review
"With its self-assured storytelling and lush descriptions, In the Company of the Courtesan is that perfect blend of literary novel and popular fiction." Seattle Times
Review
"Dunant explores and enjoys Venice. And it is Venice that captivates her most and on which she concentrates her powerful descriptive talent. While the story meanders like the canals, throwing up the odd dead end, Dunant uses research and observation to conjure up a sharp city: its dank stinking waterways, its cruel nobility and harsh laws, its fabric of stone mansions and sumpy ghettos, its glittering, gleaming, sparkling, sly and silky water." Phillipa Stockley, Washington Post Book World (read the entire Washington Post Book World review)
Synopsis
In 1527, when the city of Rome is sacked and burned by an invading army, the famed courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini and her dwarf companion, Bucino Teodoldi, escape to the wealthy and powerful city of Venice in order to rebuild their business, but they soon discover unexpected temptations and challenges that will have profound repercussions for them all. Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 250,000 first printing.
Synopsis
Set in Renaissance Italy, this follow-up to Dunant's The Birth of Venus recounts the fantastic escapades of Bucino Teodoldo, a wily dwarf, and his mistress, celebrated courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini, who escape to Venice where intrigue awaits.
Synopsis
My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperors army blew a hole in the wall of Gods eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.
Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunants epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid.
With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her.
Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultans court. But Fiammetta and Bucinos greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all.
A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the worlds greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Sarah Dunant has written eight novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Birth of Venus, and edited two books of essays. She has worked widely in print, television, and radio, and is now a full-time writer. Dunant has two children and lives in London and Florence.
Reading Group Guide
About IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN
IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN grew out of two 16th century Italian paintings. In one, an attractive young woman, dressed only in her hair, lies languidly on a bed, a sleeping dog curled up at her feet. She stares directly out at the viewer; the invitation she offers is coyly explicit. An early “page three girl”, or a subtle renaissance masterpiece?
Titians “Venus of Urbino” (called after the city where it hung for many years), has many claims to fame. Titian was Venices greatest artist when he painted it in the 1530s and Venice was the most powerful city in Europe, the hub of 16th century global capitalism. But its that look on the young womans face that really marks out this portrait. Up until now, renaissance art had had its fill of classical naked Venuses, but they had all been demure; asleep or eyes elsewhere, pretending they didnt know you were looking. There is no pretending here.
The model was almost certainly a Venetian courtesan. These were women to make your mouth water, as vital to the citys well-being as the waterways that ran through it. To keep the wealth of Venices ruling elite intact, each generation of nobles had to sacrifice some of their sons to eternal batchelorhood: spoilt men used to the privileged comforts of home, and eager for a bit on the side without any pressure of marriage. Courtesans were the answer. Women of lower birth but high wit, beauty and the cunning to keep their patrons well entertained and satfistied. I spent a year researching these formidable women, half my time on the canals and back streets of Venice, the other half in the British Library. There was gold in that history. Politicians, churchmen, bankers, writers, diplomats, rich merchants, they all sat at the courtesans table and put down the money to get into her bed and keep her in the manner to which, for a while at least, she could become accustomed. This was Venice at its most powerful, the church at its most corrupt and sin at its most deliciously profitable. What more could a novelist ask for?
The only question was, through whose eyes did I tell the story? Not the woman on the bed. Every time I tried to imagine inside her head she came out too modern. The truth was more complex. The fact that women like Titians Venus were successful in 16th century Venice was not to do with any early spark of proto-feminism. No, the courtesans talents showed themselves in ways more fitting to the period.
But if I couldnt tell it through her eyes, then where else could I go? The men were all too self absorbed or besotted. I needed someone with a clearer head and a eye for the absurd as well as the romantic. I found him in another painting, in the Academia Gallery in Venice. There, on the bottom left of a Venetian street scene by Vittorio Carpaccio was a dwarf, well dressed and with a keen intelligence in his eyes. A man standing outside the scene, watching the world and its power games from a different perspective, yet a man whose exoticism gave him entrance to high places. It was fact as well as fiction. There are records of courtesans who were known to keep dwarfs, along with parrots, monkeys and other “interesting pets.”
Once I had their partnership I had the story. His voice, her body. The courtesan and her faithful majordomo, the model and the manager, beauty and beast, both of them sharper than they looked and cleverer than most of the men they set out to dupe. Grifters, 16th century Venice style. What a fortune was to be made there. IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN; how to take a city by storm. Until you get caught…..
1. In what way does
In the Company of the Courtesan seem historically accurate to you? What details about Renaissance Italy do you think came from the authors imagination, and what aspects of it do you think are based on her historical research of the period?
2. Do you think a character like Fiammetta could exist in todays world? What, if anything, is modern about her?
3. What did you think of Fiammettas relationship with her mother, and of her mothers influence on her life?
4. In the Company of the Courtesan is told from Bucinos perspective. Why do you think the author wrote it this way, rather than from Fiammettas point of view? What are the benefits of hearing the story and seeing Venice from Bucinos standpoint? What are the limitations?
5. We tend to think of Fiammettas profession as one that is very hard on women, one that doesnt make for a happy life. On the whole, do you consider Fiammetta to be content or unhappy?
6. Did you find La Draga to be a likeable character? Did your view of her change as your reading progressed?
7. Is it accurate to describe Courtesan as a novel of “rebirth”? What are some other themes of this novel?
8. Do you think Fiammetta was truly in love with Foscari? If you dont, how would you define their relationship? Was Bucinos anger at this relationship justified?
9. What does sixteenth-century Venetian society have in common with our society today?
10. Why do Bucino and Fiammetta make such a good team? What makes them successful?
11. The picture on the cover of Courtesan is a detail from a painting by Tiziano Vecellio (Titian). When you were reading the novel, did you form an image of Fiammetta that was based on this cover image, or did you make up your own image of her? If your own, can you describe it?
12. What predictions would you make about little Fiammettas future life? Do you think shell have the same profession as her namesake?