Gioconda by Lucille Turner
A solitary child, Leonardo da Vinci's only intimate is Lisa Gherardini, the girl who spies on him in his workshop. Spurned by his tutor, he is sent by his despairing father to Florence as an apprentice. Under the guiding hand of Verrocchio, the master sculptor, he begins to make his name. But success requires sacrifice; Florence demands a level of conformity impossible for him. Forced to leave, Leonardo places himself at the service of the charismatic, power-thirsty Duke of Milan. His journey leads him back to Lisa and the portrait he has waited so long to paint, the culmination of his life's work. From the glittering court of the Medici to the mortuaries of Milan and the battlefields of the Po valley, Lucille Turner's powerful novel vividly imagines Leonardo's lonely struggle to convince others of his vision of the world.
Gioconda proposes an elegant solution to the problem of why the portrait of the wife of a silk merchant was never delivered.. Gioconda is a qualified success, scrupulous with its sources, careful with its conclusions * Financial Times *
An elegant, historical debut novel... cleverly constructed and imagined ... full of vivid characters and well-drawn incidents. Turner's careful research and graceful prose style make Gioconda a pleasure to read -- Tina Jackson * Metro *
Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci's astonishing genius is brought to life in this vividly atmospheric novel. From his solitary childhood to the conception of his iconic masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, this richly imagined life story will inspire you to re-examine his ideas, drawings and paintings * Easy Living *
Lucille offers a fresh and intimate perspective on da Vinci's life ...From the first page she draws the reader in with such a natural easy style you feel you were observing Leonardo da Vinci as he really was * Bournemouth Echo *
Elegantly told... Gioconda is a journey of discovery ... it rambles through Leonardo's life like a waking dream * Silverlock Book Reviews (blog) *
An elegant, historical debut novel... cleverly constructed and imagined ... full of vivid characters and well-drawn incidents. Turner's careful research and graceful prose style make Gioconda a pleasure to read -- Tina Jackson * Metro *
Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci's astonishing genius is brought to life in this vividly atmospheric novel. From his solitary childhood to the conception of his iconic masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, this richly imagined life story will inspire you to re-examine his ideas, drawings and paintings * Easy Living *
Lucille offers a fresh and intimate perspective on da Vinci's life ...From the first page she draws the reader in with such a natural easy style you feel you were observing Leonardo da Vinci as he really was * Bournemouth Echo *
Elegantly told... Gioconda is a journey of discovery ... it rambles through Leonardo's life like a waking dream * Silverlock Book Reviews (blog) *
LUCILLE TURNER was born in Bournemouth in 1964 to a French mother and English father. Having worked as a translator and journalist for a number of years, she now teaches Literature and Communication at Sophia Antipolis University in France.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781847083593 |
| ISBN 10 | 1847083595 |
| Title | Gioconda |
| Author | Lucille Turner |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Granta Books |
| Year published | 2012-06-07 |
| Number of pages | 304 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |