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Author:
Margaret F. Rosenthal
By University Of Chicago Press
Average Customer Rating:   
List Price: $24.00
Our Price: $14.66
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.3107092
EAN: 9780226728124
ISBN: 0226728129
Label: University Of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 408
Publication Date: 1993-02-01
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Studio: University Of Chicago Press |
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Product Description
The Venetian courtesan has long captured the imagination as a female symbol of sexual license, elegance, beauty, and unruliness. What then to make of the cortigiana onesta--the honest courtesan who recast virtue as intellectual integrity and offered wit and refinement in return for patronage and a place in public life? Veronica Franco (1546-1591) was such a woman, a writer and citizen of Venice, whose published poems and familiar letters offer rich testimony to the complexity of the honest courtesan's position. Margaret F. Rosenthal draws a compelling portrait of Veronica Franco in her cultural social, and economic world. Rosenthal reveals in Franco's writing a passionate support of defenseless women, strong convictions about inequality, and, in the eroticized language of her epistolary verses, the seductive political nature of all poetic contests. It is Veronica Franco's insight into the power conflicts between men and women--and her awareness of the threat she posed to her male contemporaries--that makes her literary works and her dealings with Venetian intellectuals so pertinent today. Combining the resources of biography, history, literary theory, and cultural criticism, this sophisticated interdisciplinary work presents an eloquent and often moving account of one woman's life as an act of self-creation and as a complex response to social forces and cultural conditions. "A book . . . pleasurably redolent of Venice in the 16th-century. Rosenthal gives a vivid sense of a world of salons and coteries, of intricate networks of family and patronage, and of literary exchanges both intellectual and erotic."--Helen Hackett, Times Higher Education Supplement The Honest Courtesan is the basis for the film Dangerous Beauty (1998) directed by Marshall Herskovitz. (The film was re-titled The Honest Courtesan for release in the UK and Europe in 1999.)
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Excellent, but a little slow, 2003-01-15
I greatly enjoyed this book, but I found that wading through 16th century Venetian dialect was difficult. If you are looking for an entertaining story biography, look elsewhere, but if you want a dissertation-style biography, you will enjoy this, as I did.
A difficult tome, 2005-07-11
After seeing "Dangerous Beauty" I became curious about the distinctive life style of Renaissance Venice, and hoped to learn a lot more. This book was just a bit too dry and scholarly for casual reading. A great deal of space is used for both the Italian and English translations, which must be interesting to some readers. Although Veronica comes across as intelligent, determined and brave, I would have wished to know more about her and her society in terms of food, clothing, houses, daily activities, etc. Perhaps not enough is known about Veronica herself, but I would hope that a gifted author somewhere could make her story into a novel and breathe some warmth and life into her legend.
Unequivically biased, 2005-11-27
Unfortunately I bought this book hoping that it would uncover more historical data and the actual works of Veronica Franco translated by a scholar in the field.
That was not the case.
The author used her college dissertation to make a book on a very important aspect of history when her dissertation would have been best served if it stayed at her college.
The author takes liberty to interpret Ms. Franco's works and for the reader it is a logistical nightmare. She first gives her statement as if fact at times which makes the facts (Veronica's actual works) seem secondary. Then she would have the Italian verse, followed by a translation.
Wow! do I feel very side tracked here.
I wouldn't even accept this for a dissertation!
Sorry, it doesn't work out in terms of literary flow, factual data or interesting storyline.
disappointed, 2007-05-15
I was hoping to find out about the remarkable life of Veronica Franco but instead was pummeled with quotes, references, repetition, and a string of Italian phrases. There's no doubt that this book is Rosenthal's dissertation. Hopefully one day it will be edited and condensed to 1/5 of its size.
5 star history; 2 star read, 2004-07-22
This book is a must read if you're interested in 16th century Venice, Veronica Franco, or the world of the famous Venetian courtesans. It's also an EXTREMELY dry read. The book is quite obviously a doctoral dissertation, and could have used an edit to made it more accessible (something more along the lines of Stephen Ozment's books). I'm glad I read it. I tracked it down because I wanted to see just how accurate the movie Dangerous Beauty--which is LOOSELY based on this book--was. The answer is: Not very. Oh well. For those of a scholarly bent, this is a great resource book, for those looking for a light, romantic read (a la the movie) look elsewhere.
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