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The Devil & Maria D'avalos
In 1590, the great and tormented composer Carlo Gesualdo murdered his beautiful wife Maria d'Avalos and her aristocratic lover. Gesualdo was a character of Shakespearian nobleman, musical genius, and—for the last 16 years of his life—an alleged madman. With the chilling calculation of a hunter, he staged the violent and bloody murder of the lovers like an opera. Yet far from ending his torment, the murder caused Gesualdo€™s subsequent years to increasingly be filled by demons and dementia. Inspired by these haunting events, this lush and sensual novel vividly imagines the life of the mysterious and seductive Maria, her tormented marriage to Carlo, and her affair with Fabrizio Carafa, the most handsome and accomplished nobleman in Naples.
344 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2007
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About the author
Victoria Hammond
13 booksVictoria Hammond is an award-winning author with a background as art historian and curator. Hammond has worked as Director at Shepparton Art Gallery and as Guest Curator at National Gallery of Victoria. She holds a Master of Arts from the University of Melbourne. Hammond has written several art exhibition catalogues and is the author of 'Letters from St Petersburg' and 'The Devil and Maria d'Avalos'. Hammond has been awarded several funding grants to assist with her work. She won the Varuna Fellowship, Eleanor Dark Foundation for 'Letters from St Petersburg'.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 15, 2015
Despite having been caught before by books whose covers were much better than the contents, I once again found my eye caught by a sumptuous cover which promised so much more than it delivered. Sporting the beautiful Venus of Urbino by Titian, and an evocative blurb, this novel seemed to offer both beauty and passion. However, even though I picked up the book for free from my local library, I felt seriously short changed.
On the 16 October, 1590 in Naples, Maria d’Avalos and her lover Fabrizio Carafa were horrifically murdered by Maria’s husband Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Vanosa. Carlo avoided legal retribution as the authorities found his action to be justified. He even escaped revenge from the two powerful families the lovers belonged to. Nor did his action render him unfit for society, for he soon remarried into the prestigious d’Este family. But his hold on sanity was tenuous for the rest of his life. Tormented and erratic, Gesualdo was a brilliant composer, whose prophetic music sank into oblivion until it was rediscovered in the mid-twentieth century.
It was through a television documentary on Gesualdo and his music that art historian Victoria Hammond discovered Maria d’Avalos. Here was a story of colour and passion and it is no wonder that the author was drawn to it. As a published writer of non-fiction, she was able to get a grant to visit Italy and research the story on the ground, a chance any novelist would die for. It is a pity, therefore, that this priceless opportunity was so sadly squandered.
Hammond has written about art and history, and I have no doubt from some of her writing here that her books on those subjects are well worth reading. But I’m afraid her writing talents do not stretch to fiction, if fiction this book is, for, although the author calls it a fiction, the publishers categorise it as biography.
Although her characters are well defined, Hammond has difficulty with some of the basic elements of fiction writing. Her dialogue is stodgy at best, her scene setting lacks momentum, as does her structure. Ironically, Hammond’s writing only takes off in the last couple of chapters in the book, after Maria’s death, when she drops all pretence at writing fiction and starts writing history.
Those final chapters give us a glimpse of what this book might have been if Hammond’s editors had had the wisdom to guide her in the right direction. If she had approached this book as history, with all the story had to offer in the way of characters and settings; art, architecture and music; passion and human frailty, she could have produced something like John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (only better). Instead what we have is a great story gone to waste.
On the 16 October, 1590 in Naples, Maria d’Avalos and her lover Fabrizio Carafa were horrifically murdered by Maria’s husband Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Vanosa. Carlo avoided legal retribution as the authorities found his action to be justified. He even escaped revenge from the two powerful families the lovers belonged to. Nor did his action render him unfit for society, for he soon remarried into the prestigious d’Este family. But his hold on sanity was tenuous for the rest of his life. Tormented and erratic, Gesualdo was a brilliant composer, whose prophetic music sank into oblivion until it was rediscovered in the mid-twentieth century.
It was through a television documentary on Gesualdo and his music that art historian Victoria Hammond discovered Maria d’Avalos. Here was a story of colour and passion and it is no wonder that the author was drawn to it. As a published writer of non-fiction, she was able to get a grant to visit Italy and research the story on the ground, a chance any novelist would die for. It is a pity, therefore, that this priceless opportunity was so sadly squandered.
Hammond has written about art and history, and I have no doubt from some of her writing here that her books on those subjects are well worth reading. But I’m afraid her writing talents do not stretch to fiction, if fiction this book is, for, although the author calls it a fiction, the publishers categorise it as biography.
Although her characters are well defined, Hammond has difficulty with some of the basic elements of fiction writing. Her dialogue is stodgy at best, her scene setting lacks momentum, as does her structure. Ironically, Hammond’s writing only takes off in the last couple of chapters in the book, after Maria’s death, when she drops all pretence at writing fiction and starts writing history.
Those final chapters give us a glimpse of what this book might have been if Hammond’s editors had had the wisdom to guide her in the right direction. If she had approached this book as history, with all the story had to offer in the way of characters and settings; art, architecture and music; passion and human frailty, she could have produced something like John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (only better). Instead what we have is a great story gone to waste.
June 30, 2008
Just... wow.
An unbelievably fascinating and haunting tale of Maria D'Avalos, whom I'd never heard of before this novel, yet whom I now admire greatly for her passion, her courage, and her determination to love and be loved.
An unbelievably fascinating and haunting tale of Maria D'Avalos, whom I'd never heard of before this novel, yet whom I now admire greatly for her passion, her courage, and her determination to love and be loved.
July 23, 2011
Well written fictionalised account of Maria D'Avalos, a Neapolitan Duchess of the late 1500's by an Australian author. Brought the period to life and made her short life quite fascinating. Strange but gifted husband who eventually killed her. Only thing I didn't like was the last chapter after the murder, which should have been written as an afterward for those who wished to know what happened next. That part didn't really read like fiction at all.
May 15, 2012
Highly captivating story of the tragedy of Maria d'Avalos. Slow build up to the violent crescendo that was the fate of the two lovers. Enjoyed also the finale of the life of the disturbing genius that was Carlo Gesualdo.
July 22, 2011
This is a fascinating story about an infamous murder in Renaissance Naples. Victoria Hammond has brought the key figures andthe era vividly to life - a really gripping and beutifully written story.
February 21, 2015
Loved this story. A book I would recommend to anyone interested in historical fiction or just a great read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews