The Venetian Contract by Marina Fiorato
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 own life is in danger too, and it will require all skills of medico Annibale Cason, the city’s finest plague doctor, to keep him alive. But what Annibale had not counted on was meeting Feyra, who is now under Palladio’s protection, a woman who can not only match his medical skills but can also teach him how to care.
GUIDE
THEMES
A devastating plague threatens the life of Venetians.
SETTING
Set in Venice, Italy, during the Renaissance.
SERIES
Not part of a series.
Review
The Venetian Contract is my third Marina Fiorato book and is possibly my favourite to date. Set in sixteenth century Venice and Constantinople, the story weaves a magical tale of east meets west, and I loved the contrasts between the Christian and Muslim worlds. Initially, I was surprised at the idea of a Muslim woman being a doctor, but it soon became obvious that Muslim women had far more freedom in the Ottoman empire than their present day equivalents. It is Feyra who is a little shocked at how backwards the Venetian women appear in contrast with their lack of education. I was little sorry we didn’t spend more time in Constantinople but that is a world I’m hoping to explore further in other books.
The medical knowledge of Annibale and his colleagues is presented very well and it is obvious Fiorato has done a lot of research into the various treatments used to cure those with plague. Most of the methods seem very archaic but allowances have to be made for the time period when religious superstition was predominant, and Annibale has to wear the mask of the plague doctor which is creepy enough to scare anyone to death. Feyra’s methods seem very modern in contrast, especially variolation, an early form of inoculation that was actively being used in the east.
Although I love the historical elements of Fiorato’s novels, I always feel her characters are a little overwhelmed by the spectacular settings and don’t really come to life. This time, Feyra felt far more real to me but her romance with Annibale is a very muted affair and never really alights. While Annibale is given his own point of view throughout most of the novel, I felt he disappeared somewhat towards the end as Freya dominated the story line.
