The Madman of Venice

by Sophie Masson

Book Overview

Originally published: Hodder Children's Books, London, 2009. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385738439
• ISBN13: 9780385738439
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A good summer read for those who dream of Venice.....

Has all the necessary elements of a good mystery novel - intrigue, betrayal, romance, a lovely, exotic city and you can whip through it in one or two afternoons. The description of 17th century Venice is definitely adds to the depth of the story although I wish the author had spent even more time describing the city to make a more complete mental image for the reader. I also enjoyed the fact that some of the story plays out in Murano, the famous glass blowing island. This book was timed perfectly for me as I had just returned from a trip from Ashland OR and had just seen "The Merchant of Venice". The author spends a great deal of time and effort describing the life and restricted lifestyles of Jews in Elizabeathean/17th century Europe and that really added to the development of the story. A good summer read, the author does a nice job of weaving an interesting web and then neatly tying all the clues together in the end.

Of Darkness, Danger, and of Lovers Bold...

Ned Fletcher is in love with Celia Ashby, the daughter of his master. But Ned is just a poor, orphaned apprentice; he's sure he'll never win Celia's heart, let alone her father's blessing. Feelings of self-pity make him rather gloomy, though he's a romantic at heart. In his free time, Ned writes poetry about Celia and attends Shakespeare's plays at the Globe. A recent play, "The Merchant of Venice," has captured his imagination, in no small part due to its setting, Venice. Ned has long dreamt of seeing Venice, and he can hardly believe his luck when he gets a chance to visit the floating city (with Celia, no less). Mr. Ashby and other merchants have recently been losing ships to vicious pirates. He's also had a request from one of the queen's musicians to look for a Jewish girl named Sarah Tedeschi, who went missing after being accused of witch craft by the Countess of Montemoro. Ned and Celia see this investigation as a great chance for adventure. Ned in particular, sees Venice as a city of fortune where anyone can make a name for himself. He hopes to impress Celia with his detective skills and make his fortune into the bargain. But Venice is a trecherous city where it's hard to know who to trust. Ned and Celia stumble onto a conspiracy and quickly learn that their detective work is no game- people's lives are at stake. It'll be their own necks on the chopping block if they're not careful. But as they get deeper into the case, they also get more involved with the victims of the conspiracy. They want to solve the case more than ever, not just for themselves, but for their friends. But how will Ned and Celia find the guilty party in a city where everyone wears a mask? One thing is definite- there's no turning back. "The Madman of Venice" is an entertaining read with mystery, romance, and action. The story has lots of twists and turns and kept me reading. I thought it ended a little too tidily, but that's not too much of a drawback. The setting of Venice, one of the main reasons I chose this book, was put to good use. Lots of famous landmarks are included, and the opulence of the city is well described. There's some good stuff here about the lives of Jews in that time and place, and about the injustices they suffered. Masson makes the atmosphere suspenseful, and there's a feeling betrayal is waiting just around the corner. The writing here is very good, neither too modern nor too quaint. It's not the best I've ever seen, but it met my expectations, which is more than I can say for some other historical fiction I've read. It's very natural sounding, and this helped the flow of the story. I much prefer this to writing that tries to impress me with big words and unnecessary metaphors. Ned is the most prominent character in the story. He annoyed me at first, with his sour, self-pitying attitude, but he does improve. He turned out to be a pretty good character, not what you usually see. Celia is more typical- bright, willful, and charming- but sh

Delightful Juvenile Fiction

You don't have to know Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice to follow this story, but it does add a deeper layer to the story ( as does knowing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night). It is a fun, light tale of true love, jealousy, plots, intrigue, revenge, and discovery, set in Venice in the Elizabethan era. It's heavy on the fiction part of the historical fiction, but no less enjoyable if you remember not to take it too seriously. A merchant of England and his household, including his daughter and his apprentice, go to Venice to seek to discover why so many of his (and his partners) ships are being captured by pirates, and also to see if he can uncover what has happened the daughter of a Jewish doctor, who has a friend who is a musician in the Queen's court and has sought the Merchant's help. The young apprentice loves his master's daughter, but is too bashful to say so and fears he will not be seen as good enough for her father.The girl is a headstrong young miss, rather slow to notice his devotion. The young pair decided to work together to find the doctor's missing daughter, secretly visiting the Jewish quarters to look for information and bringing themselves into danger of discovery- or worse, for the Jewish familiy they seek to help. There are other characters- an alchemist, a soldier or two, a madman, a duchess, and a few unsavory souls just to name a few. Good, lighthearted escape fiction with a seasoning of history.