⇒ PDF The Shepherdess of Siena A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany Linda Lafferty 9781477822074 Books

The Shepherdess of Siena A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany Linda Lafferty 9781477822074 Books

Download As PDF : The Shepherdess of Siena A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany Linda Lafferty 9781477822074 Books

The Shepherdess of Siena A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany Linda Lafferty 9781477822074 Books

I have read several other novels by Lafferty, and I think it may be time for us to break up. The first, the Bloodletter's Daughter, was suspenseful, and unpredictable. The Crossing Guard, not as good, but still and entertaining read, but her last two have developed into "churn out the books as fast as possible" works.
The story deals with a shepherdess in Siena who dreams of riding horses and in particular wants to ride, and win, the famous Palio. Intertwined in her story are stories of several of the famous people of the time and place, primarily the Medici clan. The idea would not be bad, albeit predictable. The subject matter is certainly filled with opportunities, but the execution is worse than a high school student could put together using wikipedia as his or her research. The multiple points of view story telling is extremely choppy, each chapter barely 2-3 pages, not allowing for any story to develop. Why not write several chapters from each character's voice? Maybe then we could develop some of the most interesting people in Italian history beyond thoughts of how nice it would be if I were a man, or not married to so and so.
The author is clearly capable of better, this is a an absolute waste of time and money.


Tags : The Shepherdess of Siena: A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany [Linda Lafferty] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Raised by her aunt and uncle amidst the rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside, young orphan Virginia Tacci has always harbored a deep love for horses—though she knows she may never have the chance to ride. As a shepherdess in sixteenth-century Italy,Linda Lafferty,The Shepherdess of Siena: A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany,Lake Union Publishing,1477822070,1434-1737,16th century,Audiobook; Audio; Book; CD; Historical; Fiction; Literature,FICTION Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Historical,Historical - General,Historical fiction,History,Horsemanship,Horsemanship;Fiction.,Orphans,Orphans;Fiction.,Siena (Italy),Tuscany (Italy),Tuscany (Italy) - History - 1434-1737,Women shepherds,Women shepherds;Fiction.,HISTORY Europe Renaissance

The Shepherdess of Siena A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany Linda Lafferty 9781477822074 Books Reviews

I bought this book with some apprehension, as I read another book of Linda Lafferty, House of Báthory, a historical nonsense, full of serious errors, with zero research on part of the author, as concerned geographical places and historical facts. But the title interested me and I gave it a try. This book is much better researched and depicts a good portrait of the Siena in Renaissance times, its famous Palio and the life there and surrounding towns. For all this I would give the book 4 stars. But as for the main character, the shepherd girl, transformed into an expert horsewoman and Palio competitor, I must criticize the fact that I could never keep track of her age. She is only an ignorant 7 years old girl, but is able to perform a mouth to nose CPR, saving a new born foal, where well trained vets have failed. Also at that age her aunt accuses her of being a whore, as she goes aroundon the fields with a boy who teaches her to ride, somewhat iabsurd to accuse such a young and innocent girl. At the same time she appears as a 13 years old girl, without any transition and then she seems to be 7 years old again. For this inconsistency (which is repeated in several chapters) I would decrease one star. Otherwise the story is interesting and if one accepts te strange fluctuations in age, the book is worthwhile reading.
If you, like me, loved the stories of Marguerite Henry when you were a child, or you love them now, still, you will love this "grown-up" Marguerite Henry-like story - I think of it as the grown-up version of "Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio". If you love reading historical fiction, this book is right up your reading alley, too.
Very well-told story of Renaissance Florence and her enemy Siena, and the famous Sienese horse race, the Palio. But this time the rider is a young girl. It does not end with the race, but with a story told through the Medici family intrigues and intrigues in the Renaissance Catholic church, as well.
So much detail. Good history AND fiction. Great description of the places!
Maybe you'll get out your old copy of Gaudenzia, like me, and read it just one more time!
I am addicted to Linda Lafferty's wonderful writing. History combined with great characters; this was a great read.
This was a good story with some caveats. I listened to the whispersync/audible version. The reader's voice was female and tended toward sounding exceptionally juvenile. This worked alright when the main character was 7... it did not work so well when the active character was male and in his 30s, or 50s or later.
The author seemed to have a really hard time keeping track of the age of her protagonist. One minute she was 7 years old and predictably ignorant (innocent)... and in the next several paragraphs the child was performing mouth to nose CPR to a new born foal...an animal she'd only seen from a far not 5 paragraphs earlier... so it was presented as a kind of miraculous internal sense of knowing... which would have worked - if it had been more than a one -off in the life of the child.
but then again, one minute the child was mooning over horses while she was shepherding (alone? at seven? in the hills?... (Not exactly sure what a seven year old would do if a wolf actually came around... chase it with a stick?...) and then upon returning home then the aunt was berating her for being out in the fields with boys/men accusing her of being a whore and giving away her "value". Not sure a 7 year old would be thinking about sex - much less be able to grasp the insult... so for several paragraphs she was like-13 (at least from the perspective of the aunt) and then abruptly her age would return to child again... and over the course of the first third of the book - she was randomly 7 or 10 or 13 or 8...
The physical development of the foal was easily as wierd - It seemed to take that new born foal at least three years to lose his mane fuzz and grow some decent adult hair...
and then later there was a completely unbelievable moment when this girl - who (admittedly) had grown.. but who had been completely sequestered - so had never seen a man, much less developed any physical fantasies or desires...
suddenly found herself wrapped in a mans arms - and she was like - OHHHH This is what its all about!... (?? where did THAT come from?!)... here is this purely non-sexual person -who suddenly (and for the span of a couple paragraphs) becomes the raving hormonal sensory magnet...
Well - no. The mental and physical response the author chose to represent simply wouldn't have happened like that... not in this person - not in that environment... not under those circumstances.
So there definitely were some distracting moments in this book - but the story overall was not horrible, (especially after the kid grew up and the time-world settled down a bit. I may well read it again - just for the horses... and the history...
its worth a go.. just try to let her be the age she is at the moment and dont pay much attention to the fact that the growth periods are entirely unrealistic.
I have read several other novels by Lafferty, and I think it may be time for us to break up. The first, the Bloodletter's Daughter, was suspenseful, and unpredictable. The Crossing Guard, not as good, but still and entertaining read, but her last two have developed into "churn out the books as fast as possible" works.
The story deals with a shepherdess in Siena who dreams of riding horses and in particular wants to ride, and win, the famous Palio. Intertwined in her story are stories of several of the famous people of the time and place, primarily the Medici clan. The idea would not be bad, albeit predictable. The subject matter is certainly filled with opportunities, but the execution is worse than a high school student could put together using wikipedia as his or her research. The multiple points of view story telling is extremely choppy, each chapter barely 2-3 pages, not allowing for any story to develop. Why not write several chapters from each character's voice? Maybe then we could develop some of the most interesting people in Italian history beyond thoughts of how nice it would be if I were a man, or not married to so and so.
The author is clearly capable of better, this is a an absolute waste of time and money.