The Venetian Bargain

By: Marina Fiorato

Narrated by: Pamela Garelick

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Venice, 1576. Five years after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto, a ship steals unnoticed into Venice bearing a deadly cargo. A man, more dead than alive, disembarks and staggers into Piazza San Marco. He brings a gift to Venice from Constantinople. Within days the city is infected with bubonic plague - and the Turkish sultan has his revenge.

But the ship also holds a secret stowaway - Feyra, a young and beautiful harem doctor fleeing a future as the sultan's concubine. Only her wits and medical knowledge keep her alive as the plague ravages Venice.

In despair, the doge commissions the architect Andrea Palladio to build the greatest church of his career - an offering to God so magnificent that Venice will be saved. But Palladio's life is in danger too, and it will require all the skills of Annibale Cason, the city's finest plague doctor, to keep him alive. What Cason had not counted on was meeting Feyra, who is now under Palladio's protection - an impossible woman whose medical skills and determination are matched only by his own.

From Marina Fiorato, author of the acclaimed historical novelThe Glassblower of Murano, comes a triumphant return to historical Venice with The Venetian Bargain.

©2014 Marina Fiorato (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Excellent!

Well written, well narrated. Very interesting story, easy to listen to without unnecessary drama. 5 ⭐️

Amazing Story and Great Narration

This was an amazing story. It was based on historical fact of the plague but woven with fiction to keep the reader enthralled.

The narrator has an amazing dialect for all characters.

100% recommend.

Great Story

Very interesting characters and an unusual story. I enjoyed the story teller and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. No smut either!

Kept my interest.

Great story which held my interest throughout and didn’t seem to lad or become confusing.
Narrator was great. No problems there.
I like hearing stories about Venice. It was a win win for me.

Wonderful!

Great story and very well performed. I listened to it as I was recovering from surgery and highly recommends this book and the performance.

Great story in unfamiliar context

I very much enjoyed this story in good measure because the reading/narrative was done so well. 16th century Venice and the ottoman empire are areas of marginal familiarity to me, but this audio book puts them in context and brings alive alien cultures and times and the bubonic plague certainly puts the current coronavirus in a broader perspective as well!

Better than expected

I downloaded this as it was free and I was in between credits. I was surprised that by the time I could listen to a new book that I wanted to keep listening to this one. The storyline is original and not too predictable. I didn’t think the narrator did a good job though. It doesn’t detract from the listen but it seemed like most characters were done with a raspy voice. Overall, I would recommend.

Outstanding historical fiction

The was truly a wonderful work. Accurate where it could be and believable in between. I was especially happy to see the Janissary component as this significant role is rarely brought forward. Un capolavoro per certo. Bravissima…..

Magnificent

Graciously and delicately wound story in both Eastern and Western, modern and classic styles. Delicious language beautifully performed. I was delighted from the first to the last word.

Best Book Ever

If you love stories of the Renaissance period and the Ottoman Empire, this book is for you. The tension of the East and West is felt through conflict of faith and reason. What an excellent historical fiction novel.