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It's 1559. A young woman painter is given the honor of traveling to Michelangelo's Roman workshop to learn from the Maestro himself. Only men are allowed to draw the naked figure, so she can merely observe from afar the lush works of art that Michelangelo sculpts and paints from life. Sheltered and yet gifted with extraordinary talent, she yearns to capture all that life and beauty in her own art. But after a scandal involving one of Michelangelo's students, she flees Rome and fears she has doomed herself and her family.
The Creation of Eve is a riveting novel based on the true but little-known story of Sofonisba Anguissola, the first renowned female artist of the Renaissance. After Sofi's flight from Rome, her family eagerly accepts an invitation from fearsome King Felipe II of Spain for her to become lady-in-waiting and painting instructor to his young bride. The Spanish court is a nest of intrigue and gossip, where a whiff of impropriety can bring ruin. Hopelessly bound by the rules and restrictions of her position, Sofi yearns only to paint. And yet the young Queen needs Sofi's help in other matters - inexperienced as she is, the Queen not only fails to catch the King's eye, but she fails to give him an heir, both of which are crimes that could result in her banishment. Sofi guides her in how best to win the heart of the King, but the Queen is too young, and too romantic, to be satisfied. Soon, Sofi becomes embroiled in a love triangle involving the Queen, the King, and the King's illegitimate half brother, Don Juan. And if the crime of displeasing the King is banishment, the crime of cuckolding him must surely be death.
Combining art, drama, and history from the Golden Age of Spain, The Creation of Eve is an expansive, original, and addictively entertaining novel that asks the question: Can you ever truly know another person's heart?
"[B]eautifully imagined ... Ongoing references to the Spanish Inquisition and the life of the controversial Michelangelo add depth to this rich story." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Hewing closely to historical record, the author fills in enough spaces to make a satisfying story but strategically leaves certain details to the imagination, a trick that has the reader deliciously wishing for just a little bit more." - Library Journal
"To read The Creation of Eve is to experience that wholly delicious bookish pleasure of total immersion. Sofonisba Anguissola, an Italian painter, is sent to Spain as portraitist to Elisabeth de Valois and there, amid the baroque intricacy of court politics, rivalry, and romantic intrigue, she struggles to carve out her role-and her legacy-as one of the most admired painters of her day. I found this novel about the quest for fulfillment in art and love enormously satisfying and I'm grateful to Cullen for the pleasures of such a splendid read." - Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
"What a marvelous, rich and compelling novel! Lynn Cullen draws an astonishingly vivid world of a gifted woman artist who has studied with Michelangelo and the young unhappy Queen of Spain whom she serves in that turbulent 16th century court. Each woman suffers for a love she cannot have in a time when women were powerless; drawn further into the young Queen's secrets, the artist will risk everything to help her. Turn and find yourself in the 16th century. I was unable to put the novel down and lived in its world." - Stephanie Cowell, author Marrying Mozart
"Through the keen eye of a painter trained in observation, we are drawn into the rarefied and restricted life of a queen and a court bristling with intrigue, jealousy, misplaced love, escape and escapade---what could be more tantalizing? With rich visual description, Lynn Cullen secures her place in the tradition of regal historical fiction." - Susan Vreeland, author of Luncheon of the Boating Party and Girl in Hyacinth Blue
This information about The Creation of Eve was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lynn Cullen is the author of the young adult novel I Am Rembrandt's Daughter, an ALA Best Book of 2008, and several other acclaimed books for children. She lives with her husband in Atlanta. Vist her website at www.lynncullen.com
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