
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
CHAPTER IToC
CHAPTER IIToC
CHAPTER IIIToC
CHAPTER IVToC
CHAPTER VToC
CHAPTER VIToC
CHAPTER VIIToC
CHAPTER VIIIToC
CHAPTER IXToC
In a glittering Venice of the late 17th century, Senator Michele Pignaver—a wealthy, cultured widower with a taste for poetry, Latin, and lute‑songs—decides that his niece Ortensia, now seventeen, should become his wife. He showers her with a string of pearls and a solemn kiss, presenting the match as a generous favor. Ortensia, raised by the Senator’s late wife, respects his authority but sees through his pompous façade, sensing both vanity and a hidden cruelty beneath his refined exterior.
The senator’s household soon becomes the stage for a new arrival: the celebrated composer Alessandro Stradella, whose music and reputation stir both admiration and unease. As the maestro weaves his melodies through the marble corridors, the delicate balance of power, desire, and intrigue begins to shift, promising a tale where art and ambition collide in the heart of Venice.
Language
en
Duration
~10 hours (615K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Bruce Albrecht, Barbara Kosker, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2007-11-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1854–1909
Best known for vivid novels set in Italy and for eerie, memorable supernatural tales, this prolific American writer brought a cosmopolitan life to the page. His fiction ranges from society drama to classic ghost stories that still feel unsettling today.
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