A charming romantic novel, first published in 1909, which follows the adventures of the musician and singer Alessandro Stradella in 17th-century Venice and Rome. Employed by a Venetian patrician to tutor his niece, Stradella falls in love with the girl and they elope to Ferrara - and thence to Rome - pursued by the vengeance of the Venetian and (more pertinently) by two dangerous bravi on Stradella's tail. The book has the shortcomings of its period, in that Ortensia is a perfect heroine - beautiful, faithful, pure and innocent beyond compare - and Stradella the ideal lover - restrained, thoughtful and devoted to his young bride. Despite this, it has an unexpected liveliness, largely thanks to the two bravi, Gambardella and Trombin, who turn out to have the best lines in the book and to embody a kind of world-weary cynicism that I didn't quite expect in a book of this date. I could happily read another novel simply about them. This is perfect light reading, ideal for travels or holiday - easy to dip into, and thoroughly enjoyable, if a little over-flowery now and then for our modern age. But it's highly recommended to those who like such things. I'll be looking out for other historical Italian novels by Crawford, and as the ebook is free, there's nothing to lose and much to gain in trying this.

For a longer review and for posts on other books and films, please see my blog:
http://theidlewoman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/stradella-francis-marion-crawford.htm... ( )