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Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napleon (Vintage)
In 1787, the beautiful Lucia is married off to Alvise Mocenigo, scion of one of the most powerful Venetian families. But their life as a golden couple will be suddenly transformed when Venice falls to Bonaparte. We witness Lucia's painful series of miscarriages and the pressure on her to produce an heir; her impassioned affair with an Austrian officer; the glamour and stra...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
February 10th 2009
by Vintage
(first published January 1st 2008)
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a unique story about the life of an early 19th century woman, written by her great great great great grandson, who used hundreds of letters from her entire life as the basis for this non fiction work. Lucia's life takes her from Venice to Vienna to Paris and all over Italy in this turbulent historical time if Napoleon and the forming and re-forming of empires and nations. Lucia encounters and befriends many historical people from Lord Byron to the Empress Josephine. Thoroughly enjoyable and educ...more
Gripping! The book is based on the letters between Lucia Memmo and her younger sister Paolina. For periods of their lives, they corresponded on a daily basis, giving you excellent insight into the everyday life of an aristocratic Venetian woman in this time period. It is ironic that by submitting to her husband's wishes, Lucia takes on tasks that a modern woman would find intimidating. When her husband is in exile, Lucia has to raise as much money as she can by selling off their possessions. She...more
This was an unexpectedly great book! I accidentally ran out of reading material in Venice during a 4 week vacation to Europe, and the book store only had random English books - mostly about Venice.
Lucia is the remarkable story of a woman who was born to a prestigious Venetian family, and traces her rise in Venetian society and then the downfall of the Venetian Republic by Napolean. I know little about Napolean, Venice, European history ... and have little interest in romance novels ...more
Lucia is the remarkable story of a woman who was born to a prestigious Venetian family, and traces her rise in Venetian society and then the downfall of the Venetian Republic by Napolean. I know little about Napolean, Venice, European history ... and have little interest in romance novels ...more
I read this book because I absolutely loved Andrea di Robilant's first book, A Venetian Affair, which, like Lucia, was also a non-fiction book based on the letters left behind by one of his ancestors. I agree with some other reviewers who said that the life of Lucia was not as compelling as the torrid, secret, forbidden love affair depicted in the first book. That said, di Robilant is a top-notch writer and I thought this was an excellent book. Di Robilant combines personal and global history ef...more
I wanted to read this after loving A Venetian Affair. Lucia's story isn't as breathless and compelling as her father's and his lover, Giustiniana, but once I stopped expecting a similar drama I relaxed into the book. I don't think I liked her as much as I could have but she was a very impressive woman who suffered and survived the fall of the Venetian Republic, Napoleon's rise and fall and then the Viennese based Hapsburg Empire's invasion of Northern Italy. All the while her useless husband wa...more
Lucia was the daughter of a prominent Venetian statesman and lived through the glory and decline of Venice, she became the bosomfriend of Empress Josephine, the landlady of Byron in Venice, and stands as a relic of the lost golden age
Di Robilant is the author of A VENETIAN AFFAIR
Di Robilant is the author of A VENETIAN AFFAIR
This was an excellent book. So often historical biographies center on either extremely well known figures (Napoleon or French or Austrian monarchs in the time frame of this book) or snapshots of lives of the poor in European history (as much as can be known about them from the historical material, that is). Here is an example of a life just under our usual radar, and yet, the life of a woman who shared company with emperors and empresses and whose family greatly affected the lives of those in th...more
I have really enjoyed both of di Robilant's books about his ancestors in Venice. Both Lucia and The Venetian Affair are based on packets of letters he found. Di Robilant brilliantly brings 17th and 18th century Venice to life.
Di Robilant writes well about his intriguing ancestor Lucia who lived at a catastrophic time in Venice's history. She was a clever woman, disappointed in her marriage and by her husband's infidelities, who found love all too briefly in an affair of her own.
Lucia's letters as well as family and public records flesh out the account of this one woman's life in a very turbulent time in Europe, giving colorful descriptions of life in Paris during the Empire and afterwards. I'm not usual...more
Lucia's letters as well as family and public records flesh out the account of this one woman's life in a very turbulent time in Europe, giving colorful descriptions of life in Paris during the Empire and afterwards. I'm not usual...more
I love this book! It isn't really a novel, but it is historical book with pieces of her letters, journals and some other info put together to show a remarkable portrait of the daughter of a prominent Venetian statesman from teen to old age. IT told of her as a teenager bride, her marriage, her husband's career in the governments, the life in the political turmoil of Italy and other countries involved in wars. She knew many important people in several countries. The writer was her 4x great grands...more
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This book is fabulous. It brought so much to life for me...Venice, Vienna, Paris in the 1800's...It was as if I lived through it all. I simply adored reading every word. The author must be a kind of wonderful genius. His great great great great grandmother Lucia was an inspiring woman and her letters and this book are nothing short of miraculous. Why aren't people saying this more??? What could you possibly be reading that is any better than this extraordinary book?
This is a wonderful picture of a Venetian noblewoman in the time of Napoleon. Surprisingly enough to me, she actually has an affair with a man who later dies and her husband decides to accept and bring up the boy as his son. This is, of course, not without major ramifications to the relationship. But it is clear that the husband has also had numerous liaisons as well. This is pretty much a true story of an ancestor of the author. She travels over quite a bit of Europe - sometimes with her h...more
brittlestarr9
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Recommends it for:
those into world history circa pre1800's
Recommended to brittlestarr9 by:
myself.
i learned that there are so many people, who were celebrities of their own right and of their own times who have gone unnoticed, who have done good deeds for their country. also, as boring as world history was to me back in high school (long ago), i was intrigued in learning what i missed in my high school class, all in this one book! :D
I picked this book up from the Library last week and started to read it Friday night, read it off and on Saturday and finished it today. I could not put it down and found it absolutely fascinating. The author has recreated the life of his Venetian great-great-great-great-grandmother in such detail I felt I was there. The story of how a Venetian noble family lived through the Napoleonic wars, the Austrian occupation and how their Palazzo Mocenigo survived along with the fascinating family is s...more
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An interesting biography on the last days of the Venetian Republic and how it affected a young Venetian aristocrat. What gives it a personal touch is that the author is a direct descendant of Lucia. If you like history - this is a must read. Clear and quite brisk in style
This book follows the life of Lucia Memmo Moncenigo, daughter of one of the lovers in THE VENETIAN AFFAIR during the Napoleonic period. Herself a Venetian aristocrat, Lucia marries into an even more noble Venetian family, often diplomats for the Venetian republic. A dynamic and intelligent woman, Lucia had strengths as a businesswoman, mother, wife, and confidante to several royal women, including Austrian princess Augusta and Josephine (yes, THAT Josephine). The story of her family relationship...more
Venice is one of my favorite cities to visit, so I found this story very interesting. It brings history to life as it is drawn from the letters of the author's gggg-grandmother. Now I'm eager to read A Venetian Affair, also by Di Robilant, about Lucia's father.
Very interesting read, all compiled from her actual letters...good insight to (noble class) women's lives during this time. Engrossing descriptions of life in Venice + Vienna especially. A real woman's life filled with love, loss, travel, and the day to day.
I just read a whole lot about the author's great-great-great somebody or other, Lucia. It was pretty interesting, and I learned some more about the time period but I thought it was a bit lengthy.
I really enjoyed this book, and what made it even more enjoyable was the writer was a decedent of Lucia. Recommended read
I listened to this. Good history for my research on Venice. I really think I'm obsessed with this city, smile.
truly facinating bio during such a tumultuous time! love the Venitian perspective on the French Revolution!
She is friends with Joesephine, so very interesting.
For research- thanks, Dini!
This was as well-written as A Venetian Affair, but I found the subjects a lot less compelling. Lucia and her husband Alvise just didn't have the pizzazz of Giustiniana and Andrea. The relationship of Lucia and her sister Paolina did sing for me, but I just couldn't get excited about all the information concerning Alvise's land management. I would also have liked more about the son (Alvisetto?), but since it is non-fiction, the author had to limit himself to the available materials.
Fascinating look at Venice.
Written by her sole descendant using the subject's collected letters, the book often reads like a history text. That said, it provides a first-hand account with detailed insight into life in the Venetian, French and Austrian courts, the fall of the Venetian State, and the rise and fall of Napoleon.
A beautiful depiction of the author's ancestor, surprisingly intimate narrative through the fall of the Republic, the turmoil of Napoleonic Italy, the courts of both the Habsburgs and the Bonapartes, ending with her elderly role as Lord Byron's exasperated landlord.
A fair amount of history. Not as much information about Napoleon as I thought there would be. Interesting letters between the two sisters Lucia and Paolina. It was hard for me to imagine life in these times.
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Andrea Di Robilant was educated at Le Rosey and Columbia University. He now lives in Rome, working as a correspondent for the newspaper La Stampa.
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