This story about a Roman courtesan who, after the city is sacked is forced to start life afresh in Venezia, along with her dwarf companion, Bucino, starts beautifully. Rome, with its eternal contradiction of spirituality and sin is convincingly established as is the young and lovely courtesan's popularity and wits - particularly when her world crashes around her.

Relocating to Venice, she experiences physical and financial hardship and a loss of status that she works hard to re- establish. When a peculiar blind woman enters her life, so do an assortment of other characters all of whom allow the reader to explore aspects of both the courtesan, and Venice at the height of its decadence and influence.

The life of a courtesan and her clientele as well as the daily lives and mores of the people are nicely drawn and the story is, for the first half, captivating. For some reason, from about half way through, the tale loses pace and the promise of other characters and even the central one dissolves as the energy they started with seems to peter out.

I found the end a little disappointing as even the city became dull, and an engaging plot lost its way to a degree. However, Dunant is a lovely writer and some of her descriptions and metaphors were masterful.

Overall, I did enjoy it and feel it was a good book that captured an era and a celebrated country in an original way.