A couple of historical novels about music

[Joel]

If you like music and history, you might enjoy my two historical novels about musicians:



is about Ziryab, the foremost musician of the Golden Age of Spain. Ziryab, born in Baghdad to Ethiopian slaves, was a prodigy. By the time he was 15, his teacher, jealous that his pupil outshined him, expelled him from Baghdad. Ziryab wandered across the Middle East and North Africa, using the magic of his music to fight demons, win over enemies, and woo princesses. Based on a true story.



Carlo Gesualdo, Renaissance ruler and composer, achieved fame and infamy, both for the remarkable, gut-wrenching music that he wrote, and for the violent and tragic life that he led. Gesualdo murdered his wife and his best friend because he believed they were having an affair; he was then so consumed by guilt that he had a servant whip him nightly until his death. He was bewitched by a woman whose spell made him impotent with any woman but herself. "I own him from the waist down", she said at her trial. "His wife shall have nothing but kisses."

This fictionalized account brings life to the twisted, obsessive genius, and to the people who surrounded him, people who loved and hated him, who were drawn to the fire of his passion yet repelled by his callous and repulsive nature.

[Abby]

Added to the bookshelf too

[Joel]

Thanks, you're wonderful