Maddalena and the Dark

A Novel

De: Julia Fine

Narrado por: Sophie Roberts

Duración: 11 h y 3 m

Resumen del Editor

For fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Mexican Gothic, a novel set in 18th-century Venice at a prestigious music school, about two girls drawn together by a dangerous wager

“A sumptuous feast of a novel, rich and strange and heady. Julia Fine is an extraordinary writer.” —Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get In Trouble

"Julia Fine's lyrical prose borders on the poetic, while Roberts invests each girl with complicated emotions, allowing their confused feelings to permeate this sinister tale of love and magic."- AudioFile

Venice, 1717. Fifteen-year-old Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. As a student at the Ospedale della Pietà, she hopes to join the highest ranks of its illustrious girls’ orchestra and become a protégé of the great Antonio Vivaldi. Luisa is good at violin, but she is not the best. She has peers, but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena.

After a scandal threatens her noble family’s reputation, Maddalena is sent to the Pietà to preserve her marriage prospects. When she meets Luisa, Maddalena feels the stirrings of a friendship unlike anything she has known. But Maddalena has a secret: she has hatched a dangerous plot to rescue her future her own way. When she invites Luisa into her plans, promising to make her dreams come true, Luisa doesn’t hesitate. But every wager has its price, and as the girls are drawn into the decadent world outside the Pietà’s walls, they must decide what it is they truly want—and what they will do to pay for it.

Lush and heady, swirling with music and magic, Maddalena and the Dark is a Venetian fairytale about the friendship between two girls and the boundless desire that will set them free, if it doesn’t consume them first.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2023 Julia Fine (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Fine beguiles with this decadent tale of desire set in 18th-century Venice…A masterly exploration of the shifting power dynamics of the protagonists’ relationship, particularly as Maddalena’s devotion to Luisa curdles into obsession. With the alluring Venice backdrop, this will frighten and captivate in equal measure.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“From its first sentence, this novel curled its crooked little witch's finger around my heart and still hasn't let go. I can't decide what I loved most—the Faustian bargain set against an irresistibly lush and mercurial 18th-century Venice, or the shrewd and playful insight into artistic ambition and the high price women are forced to pay for it. Maddalena and the Dark completely seduced me with its menace, and it is undoubtedly Fine’s best yet.”—Amy Jo Burns, author of Shiner

“Maddalena and the Dark is chocolate laced with poison. To read it is to fall under an enchantment: 18th-century Venice, desire and obsession, music and ambition, lagoons and monsters. Julia Fine is a writer of ferocious talent and originality, and with her third novel she has crafted a sweeping, dark fairy tale about the violent hearts of teenage girls. I loved it from the first sentence to the astonishing final lines.”—Katie Gutierrez, national bestselling author of More Than You’ll Ever Know

meh.

I struggled with this listen. it took awhile for me to be invested in it, and I use the term invested loosely, then even when the plot started picking up a bit, it never was something I was eager to get back to. I was mostly eager to listen so that I would be finished with it sooner. My three stars may be a bit generous for my experience with it.

Feminine Powers Prevail

In addition to the music in plot and characters, the writing is exquisite and gorgeously narrated. It's obvious how dearly Julia Fine holds her female characters and how cleverly she's conceived their powers and limitations. Terrific summet read.

Delicious

This story is a feast. Exquisite writing and mood. Beautiful trip through mystical Venice of 18th century - I will now research history of Venice so I can truly appreciate its customs and traditions. If you enjoy historical fiction, take a chance on this jewel.