Da Vinci's Tiger

With this Renaissance-period novel, L.M. Elliott explores the brilliant world of upper-crust Florence, and the gilded cage it was for women. Narrator Elizabeth Wiley does a solid job for the majority of the narration, but when she gives voice to Ginevra de' Benci, she uses a high-pitched, aggressively girlish voice. Since Ginevra is the main character of the novel, this approach makes much of it a difficult listen. For some listeners, this character voice may not be a problem. But others will find it grating and immensely distracting from the fascinating world of Renaissance Italy and the life of Ginevra--particularly where it intersects with Leonardo da Vinci-- which is described so well by Elliott. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

March 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-This atmospheric novel is set in the opulence and splendor of 15th-century Florence. Finding societal roles limiting, Ginevra de'Benci struggles to find her voice among the male poets and artists in the circle around the Medici family, who use their wealth to support culture and art. Ginevra is a progressive and intelligent young woman who is trapped in a loveless arranged marriage. However, her family's wealth and influence allow her to move among a well-educated, cosmopolitan crowd. She catches the eye of several artists who use her lovely and wise face on canvas and in sculpture. Leonardo da Vinci, apprenticed to Andrea del Verrocchio, forms a genuine friendship with Ginevra, appreciating her intelligence and grace. Commissioned by a powerful ambassador, who also seems to have amorous plans for Ginevra, da Vinci paints one of his best-known works featuring Ginevra and her intense gaze. While this novel will have limited appeal owing to its deliberately slow pace, it is abundant with day-to-day details of life during the Renaissance. Elizabeth Wiley's narration is not ideal; Ginevra's voice is frequently whiny or breathless, presenting her more as vapid than valiant. VERDICT An additional selection. ["Add this gem to round out collections skewed toward 20th-century history": SLJ 10/15 review of the Katherine Tegen book.]-Suzanne Dix, The Seven Hills School, Cincinnati, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 24, 2015
“I beg your pardon, I am a mountain tiger.” This is the only surviving sentence from the poetry of Ginevra de’ Benci, who posed for a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 1470s. The creation of this portrait is the subject of Elliott’s (Flying South) delicately beautiful novel. Ginevra, a well-educated and intelligent young woman, seeks intellectual and romantic fulfillment in the aristocratic circles of Florence. Her arranged marriage, while friendly, is dull, and the ambassador from Venice, Bernardo Bembo, wants her to be his Platonic muse—a Renaissance form of romance in which a man idealizes a woman, declaring that he will meditate on her beauty, grace, and virtue to guide his soul to God. Bembo’s love can give Ginevra access to the sparkling life of the court, but she finds the painter he hires for her portrait very distracting indeed. Elliott’s novel is thoroughly researched, portraying three-dimensional characters in a lively atmosphere of love and art. Renaissance Florence breathes through this book, bringing readers to a fuller understanding of the portrait, the era, and an indomitable young woman. Ages 13–up.

September 1, 2015
In politically turbulent Renaissance Florence, the admirer of a beautiful, married noblewoman changes her life when he commissions a young Leonardo da Vinci to paint her portrait. Ginevra de' Benci, 17, spends her dull marriage to an older wool merchant reading, writing poetry, and socializing. She benefits from her family's long-standing ties to the Medicis, especially Lorenzo, who introduces her to Bernardo Bembo, the handsome ambassador from Venice. Smitten, he commissions her portrait from rising artist Leonardo. Vows of platonic love notwithstanding, Ginevra finds Bernardo's lusty pursuit anything but abstract. It's Leonardo, who engages her as an equal, who attracts her, however. Readers will learn much about 15th-century Florence, but meticulous research does not make a novel. For that, characters are needed whose desires, fears, gifts, and foibles drive the story, whom readers can believe in and care about. In the confusing prologue, Ginevra addresses modern readers, explaining her portrait's significance in an art-historical precis. Thereafter, brief spurts of dialogue are separated by long paragraphs of unleavened exposition as Ginevra steps out of character to offer historical analyses and tangential facts, such as how left-handedness has been treated over centuries. The book's second half may well engage readers willing to hang on that long. Not credible as fiction, but the bonanza of fascinating details about life in Renaissance Italy has appeal. (Historical fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 The Italian Renaissance is at its peak, and Florence flourishes under the leadership of the Medici family. Lovely, educated, poetic Ginevra de' Benci longs to take part in this artistic revolution, but as a woman of status, the only avenue she's allowed is an arranged marriage with a distant husband. But when the charming Bernardo Bembo comes to Florence and names Ginevra his Platonic Muse, she finds herself sitting for a portrait with a young painter named Leonardo da Vinci. Through their sessions, Ginevra finds in Leonardo a kindred spirit, expressing her thoughts and passions for perhaps the first time. But elsewhere in the city, the Pazzi family seethes under Medici rule, and Ginevra must walk a thin line of political intrigue while maintaining her reputation in the eyes of her society. This is history-heavy and meticulously researched, though the details of fifteenth-century Florence often overshadow the plot. Still, the independent female narrator and the richly drawn portrait of Italian culture will attract history buffs and artists alike to this story behind da Vinci's first-known painting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)