The Venetian Mask    by Rosalind Laker Order:  USA  Can Three Rivers, 2008 (2008) Softcover, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson The Venetian Mask is set in eighteenth century Venice before the French Revolution, when Carnival set the scene for masked revels. The story follows the friendship of two young women, Marietta Fontana and Elena Baccini, both raised in the Ospedale della Pietà, the orphanage and music school for girls where the great Maestro Vivaldi once taught. Traditionally the school sent its Pietà girls out to perform chorals at various social events in the city, accompanied and carefully chaperoned by nuns. Both red-haired Marietta and blonde Elena grow up to be lovely, talented young women, perform as soloists, and are mentored by the ospedale's prima donna, Adrianna. Outside the walls of the ospedale where their life is so circumscribed, Marietta and Elena glimpse intriguing men. Elena is attracted to Marco, head of the aristocratic Celano family, while Marietta wonders about Domenico Torrisi - before she died, Marietta's mother had worked on a gilded mask that turned out to be molded from Domenico's face. A centuries long vendetta between the Celano and Torrisi families frequently erupts in violence. In a chance encounter at a mask shop where she has been visiting Adrianna (who has left the ospedale and is now married to the owner and mask-maker) Marietta meets a young Frenchman on the Grand Tour - Alix Desgrange is the son of a silk merchant. Marietta takes great risks to secretly leave the school and join him (always masked) in forays around the city. Though Domenico Torrisi recognizes her, he keeps her secret. But the young lovers are soon parted, and Elena's romance also goes awry - she ends up forced to marry the brutal Filippo Celano, who is obsessed with her. And Marietta ends up as wife to the enemy of her friend's new family, Domenico Torrisi. Rosalind Laker develops an absorbing plot with secret liaisons and childbirth, false accusations, unjust imprisonment, a Bluebeard of a husband, a breathtaking rescue, and an old love in a position to decide whether or not to save a new one. There are plenty of twists to this exciting tale of lifelong friendship, black treachery, and enduring love, in the colorful context of the Republic of Venice - in an era when masked anonymity gave people at all social levels the freedom to live dangerously. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Historical books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews