Lisa’s father was very strict and her mother was sick; her
home life was anything but pleasant. On the verge of womanhood her mother told
her of Giuliano’s murder and had taken her to the dumo where her mothers only
link to the past still existed. All questions about her mothers ties to him
were left unanswered because her mother was brutally murdered by the evil
propaganda preacher Savonarola. Her father had been taken in by this fanatical
preacher and truly believed his radical sermons. He had dragged her sick mother
to one of these sermons to meet Savonarola and she had fallen into a fit during
the service. God’s work held all accountability for murdering her mother. Lisa
would never be able to forgive Savonarola or her father for not helping her
mother and for pushing her into an early grave.
Lisa in that instant saw another side of her father she had never seen
before.
Since Lisa’s father was a rich wool merchant his family had
been employed by the de’ Medici for generations. It was her mothers final wish
that Lorenzo be the only man to play matchmaker for Lisa and her future
husband. She met Lorenzo in her finest gown and Lisa made introductions with
some of Florence’s finest artists, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. After
meeting all of these new fascinating people Lisa had a firm new conviction that
she was ready for a new life far away from her fanatical father.
Lorenzo’s son named after his beloved uncle, Giuliano met Lisa
at the end of her first visit to the de’ Medici household. It was love at first sight and he wanted to
ask for permission to have her hand but his father’s health was in rapid
decline while the fanatical preacher Savonarola was quickly on the rise. All of
Florence flocked to this mad man that was apparently an anti de’ Medici
fraction. He was succeeding in turning Florence against the de’ Medici while
Lorenzo lay dying. Lorenzo’s eldest son
Piero was going to struggle in taking over his father’s rule of Florence.
Taking a dramatic hold on life Lisa and Giuliano married with out her fathers consent
and barely two days a married woman all of Florence turned against anything de’
Medici. Piero was ousted and fled for his life and Giuliano had tragically died
trying to find Lisa. With him gone there was no reason to live but live, as she
must Lisa must find justice and the truth because it was all she had left.
4/5 Excellent story lines, I really enjoyed this one because
it was a real mystery surrounding Mona Lisa’s mother all the way to the very
end. I loved this one but I defiantly would not recommend this one to my
readers that need historical accuracy because their were a lot of liberties
taken here by the author.
R-Rating for violence
FTC this novel is from my personal collection.
Amazon ~ I, MONA LISA by Jeanne Kalogridis~Lizzie~
