The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

Venice, 1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the artists, Corradino Manin, sells his methods and his soul to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, to protect his secret daughter. In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower in Venice. As she finds new life and love in her adoptive city, her fate becomes inextricably linked with that of her ancestor and the treacherous secrets of his life begin to come to light.

Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian and a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the historical analysis of Shakespeare's plays. She's worked as an illustrator, an actress, and a film critic, and she's produced tour visuals for U2 and the Rolling Stones, among others. Her first novel, The Glassblower of Murano, was an international success, and her second novel, The Daughter of Siena, is historical fiction. She married on Venice's Grand Canal and now lives with her family in London.