The Virgins of Venice
Venice in 1509 is an opulent dream of a city in many ways, but a nightmare for daughters of the patrician class. Justina Soranzo is luckier than most, with an indulgent father and affectionate brother to support her love of books and education, but even they can’t protect her from the limited options available to her: an arranged marriage or the nunnery. Justina thinks she’s beaten the odds by falling in love with a good marriage prospect, but is shocked to learn that her father has arranged a wealthy match for her younger sister, Rosa, leaving Justina no option but to take her vows in the convent of San Zaccaria.
Resigned to her fate and the loss of her beloved Luca, she resolves to enjoy the relative freedoms her consecrated sisters have—access to books, fine food, art, and the warm support of her Aunt Livia, second-in-command at the abbey. The corrupt world of Venice has other ideas, however, when Justina learns that the most powerful courtesan in the city, La Diamanta, is forcing Justina’s overleveraged father to pay his debts at her brothel by selling his eldest daughter’s virginity to the highest bidder.
Buonaguro offers a satisfyingly soapy plot and well-researched details of everyday life in Renaissance Venice, but her one-dimensional characters and stilted dialogue don’t do the setting justice. A sixteen-year-old nun, however well-educated and passionate, is a limited lens for this politically and culturally complex society, and the fact that Justina is even more self-involved and impractical than the average adolescent doesn’t help. Readers may wish they were hearing this story from the much more interesting point of view of Justina’s wise Aunt Livia, whose devotion to her sisters—one in particular—reflects all the passion and idealism that Justina can only give lip service to.
