Coming soon from Historium Press, "Viva Violetta & Verdi" by Howard Jay Smith, the acclaimed author of "Meeting Mozart"
Cover design by White Rabbit Arts at The Historical Fiction Company
Book Blurb:
VIVA VIOLETTA & VERDI brings to life the intense love affairs and tragedies of the great composer’s life and the heart wrenching conflicts behind the crafting of La Traviata, during the Risorgimento, those three Wars of Italian Independence that led to the creation of Italy. In this grand operatic novel, which delves deep into themes of power, love, food, wine, passion, and betrayal, Verdi and finds himself in a love triangle that not only threatens to destroy his personal life and happiness, but also undermines the birth of an independent free Republic of Italy.
ADVANCED PRAISE
“Once is good, twice demonstrates more than a lucky start, but three times a winner cements an author’s oeuvre as really outstanding. To be consistently at the top of one’s game is incredibly hard, so the plaudits to Howard Jay Smith on the triumph with his third novel — Viva Violetta & Verdi — bespeak a level of excellence that few writers attain. Following on the heels of Beethoven in Love, Opus 139, and Meeting Mozart, Smith as a maestro has once again used the language of music to conduct a beautiful story that keeps the reader engaged, so that after the last act, the response is universally, “Encore!” Bravo! — Fredric D. Price, Founder & Publisher of Fig Tree Books LLC.
With his latest novel, 'Viva Violetta and Verdi', the established writer Howard Jay Smith turns his attention to the truly tortured and tempestuous life and times of Giuseppe Verdi [1813 - 1901], a man who in many ways came to symbolize the spirt of nineteenth century Italy. Smith has already penned two gems of musical historical fiction in the shape of his accomplished and much praised works 'Beethoven in Love' and 'Meeting Mozart'. Here, in his latest work, Verdi comes to symbolize the struggle in this crowded century to transform Italy from a mere 'geographical expression' into a proud and free independent nation in its own right. Often embroiled at the very heart of the events of this epic story of a young nation seeking its own united destiny, Verdi, with his towering works and in particular his passionate and powerful Operas, comes to epitomize the undaunted spirit of the Italian 'Risorgimento'. Here, using a broad palette with both sweeping brush strokes and a fine and delicately probing eye, Smith unrolls for the reader also a fine and sensitive profile of Giuseppe Verdi, a very human being with his life and loves. He emerges from these pages as a living, breathing person with his own loves and passions, of food and wine and good company, trapped in a love triangle and against a vivid historical backdrop panorama of passion and politics, reversals and triumphs. - Julian De La Motte Harrison, author of Senlac, Books 1 & 2.
"Giuseppe Verdi - We know the history of this, the most beloved of Italian composers, the genius behind many of the greatest world operas, the young revolutionary fervently supporting the Risorgimento, the liberal supporter of the nationalist cause, champion of Italian unification, and ultimately hero of the new Italian state. The “figurehead of Italian pride” whose death drew some 400,000 to his funeral procession in the streets of Milan, to the sounds of “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate” - “Fly, thought, on wings of gold” - an anthem to the new Italy’s freedom from foreign domination.
But what lies beneath this history? What was Verdi’s true inspiration throughout his entire life? Who was Verdi’s muse, guiding him to glory on his artistic and political journeys? Now, Howard Jay Smith gives us a glimpse of the real story behind the man - a story of revolution and triumph, love and joy, a story of the brotherhood of man. This is the story of Verdi and his Violetta, living the joys and sorrows of life in this world, the drama and compassion of life and love, the heart and soul of being human that brought his nation into a new century and his Italian compatriots into a new world." – George Konstantinow, Ph.D., Board of the Santa Barbara Symphony & ETC, the Ensemble Theater Company
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