Rosalind Laker is fast becoming one of my favorite historical fiction authors. I have also read her novel The House by the Fjord and I just started two others, To Dream of Snowand This Shining Land.The Venetian Mask tells the story of two friends, Marietta and Elena, who grow up together in the Ospedale de la Pieta, an orphanage and music school. Their romantic lives entangle them in feuding families. The story follows them over several decades as their personal trials and struggles intersect with the political life of Venice in the late 18th century through the arrival of Napoleon's forces during the Directory period in France.A unique feature of the book is the detailed information about the business of making ornate masks that truly concealed identities, not only at Carnival time, but all through the year. This practice of mask-wearing facilitated the intrigues that were already common to Venetian life, and Marietta, who came from a family of skilled mask-makers, is ideally suited to playing a pivotal role among the nobility and bureaucrats who wished to buy them and hide behind them.The prose is smoothly and skillfully written and the story is well-paced and suspenseful, with plenty of risk and danger. The two women's friendship is a constant emotional thread binding their disparate fates.
This was a book where the blurb was more interesting than the content itself. The actual saving and plotting of Marietta's husband took up less than 10% of the entire content. Too many pages were devoted to describe the sweeping opulence and decadence of Venice in the 18th century shortly before its fall, that the characters failed to come alive completely. All of the women were selfless, perfect and courageous. Not one was flawed. Of the men, of course there were defects but very little else was said about them.Love was the central theme of the story, touching on the first flush of love, love lost and love found again. Yet the characters all fell so swiftly into the throes of love it was slightly bewildering for the reader to read. Almost all of them fell in love at first sight and the gradual love between Marietta and her husband wasn't expounded upon but just dropped into the story so suddenly I thought there had been missing pages.More of a historical romance than historical fiction, I'd recommend it to anyone with a love of masks, the richness of Venice in the 18th century and in love with love itself. Just don't expect any complicated plotting or intricate setting behind the lush descriptive.
What do You think about The Venetian Mask (2008)?
My friend Angela recommended this author. I love historical fiction. Rosalind Laker deftly mixes romance and mystery in her novels while bringing the particular era in history to life. In The Venetian Mask, three sheltered young girls raised in a music school for orphaned girls, remain lifelong friends supporting each other through romantic disappointments, arranged marriages and a menacing family feud. Laker portrays the serene city where the girls live not just as a beautiful and mysterious setting but as another character playing an indelible role in each of their lives.
—Linda
I read this just after high school. My parents love this author and many of her books have graced their bookshelves for as long as I can remember. I think this is the first of hers that I read. My mother is a history buff and therefore eschews any historical fiction without clearly impeccable research. Rosalind Laker's books land you right into the time, place and people of which she writes. She tends to focus on professions, in this case the mask maker's for carnival in Venice. I could not put this book down and read it in one night (finished at 3 AM). It is still my favorite Rosalind Laker.
—Peggy
My love affair with Rosalind Laker began after reading To Dance with Kings. What a wonderful novel! And while I liked The Venetian Mask, I do agree with other reviewers that her novels have a bit of a pattern to them. However we are also in agreement that it doesn't make the story less for it. The story starts off slow, but no worries, it does pick up.Laker transports the readers to 18th century Venice; see the majestic palaces that rise from the water along the Grand Canal, experience the decadence and licentiousness of The Carnival, and feel surrounded by the music...ahh...the sweet music. The gondoliers with their booming voices, often accompanied by violins or flutes, the street bands that played in the squares and the angelic voices of the Pieta girls. Obviously venetian masks feature heavily in the story; the making of them we see through the eyes of Marietta and the various misdeeds that can be done while hiding underneath were quite intriguing. All in all, The Venetian Mask is a good read.
—Amy
