Book Reviews of In the Company of the Courtesan

Story of Fiammetta, a courtesan who left Rome after it was sacked by the Spanish and Germans, and moved back to her hometown of Venice with Bucino, a dwarf serving as her companion and assistant. At the ripe old age of 21, having been a whore for six years and now in her prime, Fiammetta seeks to rebuild her house and her power base in 1520’s Venice. Once again, the author uses her verbal paintbrush to unveil a unique portrait of the city, the times, the people, the mood of the era and makes you wish you were there despite the unpleasant side of it all. I enjoyed this book quite a lot, but it didn’t quite have the magical sparkle that The Birth of Venus had.

If you liked The Other Boylen Girl, you will like this. The most interesting aspect of the story is that the narrator is a dwarf! A good book if you like Period Novels.

A good read. I loved how the book was from the dwarfs point of view. It did start to get a little long and boring towards the end though.

After reading The Birth of Venus and loving it,this was very dissapointing. It was totally BORING, slow moving with no discernible plot. This book seemed to be very well researched as far as the time period, but the best thing about the book was the cover! I hope her new book is better.

I originally bought this book for a flight home. It started strong and the visual descriptions were beautiful. Overall, I found the book to just so-so. The narrative perspective was very interesting and the highlight of the book.

Good story but not nearly as good as The Birth of Venus.

great book. Really made me long to make a return trip to Europe.

ok story, not great.

excellent piece of writing... discover the world of venice in the 16th century with the courtesan and her household.

Great beach read!

This book has many strengths. The setting is evocative and seemingly well-researched, but not particularly attractive in the mind's eye. My expectations were more along the lines of sumptuous fabrics, rich wines, and languid encounters. In actuality, the book's courtesan is down on her luck, and any interaction we have with her day to day life is narrated from the 'behind the scenes' perspective of her partner in crime.

There is an interesting subplot to follow, and unexpected twists keep the book from becoming boring, but it wasn't the escapist fiction I was expecting.

Great Read!

excellent book