Valperga is a rather unbalanced novel. It has exciting plot points, a fast-moving style and a huge amount of political intrigue. But what it lacks is character, tension and drama. It is largely underwhelming despite how well-researched it is and how much content the book covers. It is almost like Shelley forgot how to write interesting characters whilst she focused on the historical elements. So much happens, and Shelley sweeps over these events without really detailing their impact on her prota...

This is a great book telling about a little known Italian prince. It's got a love, war, politics, magic and truth! Taken from the haroin's real life diaries, this story is told with little infill, but reads like a shakespearean tragedy. We all knew she was tallented, but this is a book that piques my interest in more of her writing.

A very interesting examination of political and personal morality, set in early fourteenth century Italy (1300-1330), at just the time at which Dante wrote his Divine Comedy (1320) and well before, even more appropriately, Machiavelli wrote his treatise on amoral realpolitik The Prince (1530s). The independent city states of Italy were divided into Guelph and Ghibelline factions. Ostensibly, they disagreed on whether to place their allegiance with the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (Ghibelline...

Need to reread Florentine Histories alongside this one.

A little long, but extremely compelling. The mix of historical novel, political thriller, bildungsroman, and gothic psychological horror makes this a really interesting and exciting pastiche. You can't really get ahead of it. The three central characters are all extremely well drawn, and the novel shifts focus from one to the other in a way that is structurally really ambitious. A great read for anyone who likes early 19th century fiction.

No es divertido de leer pero sí muy interesante. Os cuento por qué aquí: https://gorgonas.com/2021/08/24/resen...

Castruccio, Prince of Lucca, was one of the more brutal and successful of Tuscany tyrants from the early years of the Renaissance. A native Florentine from the anti-libertarian Ghibeline party, his family had to flee Florence when he was just a child in the wake of some typical political plotting.The extraordinarily (to a modern reader) named Euthanasia is Shelley's fictional heroine, close to Castruccio throughout childhood and eventually betrothed to him, but very much his opposite in both par...

Ho preso questo libro spinto solo dal protagonista, Castruccio Castracani, uno dei personaggi di spicco della storia di Lucca.Se da un lato l'ambientazione mi emozionava, dall'altro l'autrice non mi dava grandi garanzie: di Mary Shelley -come penso quasi tutti- avevo letto finora solo Frankenstein, e l'avevo trovato deludente, enormemente sopravvalutato.Questo libro è una sorta di romance storico ambientato nel 1300, e segue bene o male la vita di Castruccio Castracani dall'infanzia in esilio fi...

Next to Frankenstein, this is Mary Shelley's finest novel (Frankenstein being her very best). This book is enchanting, with elegantly drawn characters as well as depictions of the picturesque landscape, and the times in which it takes place. The mark of a great novel is that it leaves the reader not only thinking, but intrinsically altered in indefinable ways. Valperga does just that. It is Romantic without being riddled with cliches, or falling prey to the trap of sophistic pedantry. As such,

Beautifully written prose in the style of classical Middle-English. While the descriptive passages can be overwrought and have a tendency to slow the plot, the characters are well-formed and relatable.

Read for a graduate seminar on Romantic Era women writers at CU Boulder.This was a sprawling, ambitious novel. And while parts of it were downright boring, other parts were equally interesting. I can't imagine the research and labor that went into putting such a detailed story together- so I give it three stars for that alone. Would I recommend it to friends? Maybe, if you're up for a bit of torture and not a lot of reward. It takes a plethora of precursory knowledge to understand and is a very

I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, mainly because I find it a slightly strange concept. I don’t really understand the desire to tell semi-fictional stories with a cast of real people… I mean, if I want to know the actual history, I’d rather read a history book, and I prefer my fiction to be, well, 100% fictional. I do make the occasional exception, though, and I’m glad I did with this one. This was Shelley’s second novel, after the much more famous Frankenstein, and it’s a good one. She r...

Having read this book, I now know why Shelley is only known for Frankinstein. Even for a nineteenth century novel, much of the dialogue is unnecessarily verbose.

I just realized as I sat down to write this review that I could say it all in three words. Just three rather small words. I don't think I've ever written a review - whether it is here or just in my diary that is only three words. The reviews come in handy when I'm trying to remember if I liked a book enough to read it again or if it should simply be used as a hill in one of my Christmas villages. Come to think of it, there are quite a few "never again" books in my home because there are many, ma...

Travelled to Lucca and saw a wine named after the male lead in this 'begging to be an opera' historical fiction from the Renaissance. Puccini lived and died in his beloved Lucca and would be able to deal with all the drama, emotions, cruelty and beauty. Can anyone translate the last few lines for me? I loved Euthanasia and would have done anything to be with her....even forget about power and prestige (unlike C.). He transformed what could have been heaven on earth to one of Dante's levels of he...

All things considered this book was far too long in duration! A lot of it could have been edited out to have made a much clearer and by far a better book. Mary Shelley was partly in awe of Italy and partly frustrated by it at the same time. Where the areas are that showed she was in awe was when she described the elaborate costuming and festivals. Overall I feel these scenes could have been left out or to have been made much shorter in detail. They don't really add anything to the story and noth...

At once fascinating and, well, pretty dull. Valperga is historical fiction, taking the story of a real Italian tyrant and adding fictitious women, whose story it ultimately becomes. It's this feminist slant that kept me reading—because Castruccio, prince of Lucca, is a very boring character—but much of the story creaks along, hardly ever connecting with the reader. It begins in Castruccio's childhood, as he is spirited away from political turmoil in his hometown of Lucca. In nearby Florence, Dan...

Probably 3.5 - it definitely grew on me as it went on, after a very slow start. Euthanasia was a much more interesting central character than Castruccio. I knew they were all going to die but it was still... sad... and I am annoyed that Castruccio didn't get overthrown in the end - he definitely deserved it!

La storia di Castruccio inizia con la sua prima infanzia e la fuga da Lucca verso Firenze.Castruccio e la sua famiglia sono ghibellini, sostenitori dell'imperatore. Nel 1301 i guelfi, cacciati da Pistoia, si traferirono a Lucca costringendo i ghibellini alla fuga.Giunto a Valperga Castruccio si vede costretto a crescere in breve tempo a causa della situazione politica ma soprattutto per la morte dei genitori.Messer Antonio era un guelfo. Durante una battaglia catturò Ruggieri, il padre di Castru...

Shelley's most under-rated book. At a time where masculine voice dominates historical fiction, Shelley triumphs in the genre.