It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Costanza by Rachel Blackmore. This book is going on my favourites of the year list.
About the Author
Born in Birmingham, Rachel spent her childhood in the Northeast, then the Midlands. She studied history at King's College London, where her fascination for women's history took root. After a brief stint in politics, Rachel built a career in corporate communications. In 2021, she was runner-up in the Harper's Bazaar Short Story Competition and won the Irish Writers Centre 2022 Novel Fair. Rachel lives in London with her three teenagers, two cats and one dog. Follow @rjblackmore1 on Twitter
About the book
History calls her a Muse. Temptress. Fallen woman. This is her story.
It’s 1636 and Rome hums with gossip and sin. Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife - until she meets world-famous sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.
Their secret love burns with a passion that consumes them. But with every stolen kiss and illicit tryst, Costanza's reputation is at stake. And Bernini has a more dangerous desire: he wants to immortalise Costanza in marble. When Bernini unveils his sculpture of Costanza it marks the beginning of a scandal which will rock Roman society. For Bernini would rather destroy Costanza than let her go.
Betrayed. Abandoned. Banished. This was meant to be the end of Costanza’s story. But Costanza is no ordinary woman: from the ashes, she will rise …
Costanza is a dizzying and sensual historical novel that brings to life a feminist icon who has been written out of history.
I came away from this story, a retelling of a moment in history captured in art, with the feeling that the winner tells the history and it's always men doing the writing. Also that great art, memorable deeds and life-changing moments in history always excuse the misdeeds and whitewash the crimes.
Seen from the perspective of Costanza the Bernini brothers emerge as the predators they most certainly were. Passion, muse, inspiration all sound rather romantic and exciting for all parties involved, right? It sounds a little different when those words are exchanged for coercion, blackmail, non-consensual acts or possessive behaviour. Having someone carve up a women's face to deconstruct the beauty at the core of said inspiration is unforgivable, to try and destroy her reputation and life equally so.
It all sounds so reminiscent of the kind of misogynistic and abusive crimes we see in modern times, which of course just proves endemic and ingrained the violence and mistreatment of women and girls is in all societies. Interesting how everything is framed with such a dainty brush of romanticism. Oh how the great man was tortured, inspired and captivated by insert any woman/girl - poor man couldn't control himself and wasn't to blame for insert crime against woman/girl.
Loved this book. Brilliantly written with a touch of historical nuance, a deep sense of poetic beauty and both the consumerism and power of artistic talent. The author bows to the lasting legacy of creativity whilst simultaneously asking whether the legacy and talent should ever warrant erasing the truth.
Give this a Medici or Rome tv series development and it is guaranteed to be a hit, between the visual beauty of the art and the passion of the characters - it would be an intriguing venture. Equally important would be taking the core of this retelling and giving the power back to Costanza - where it belongs.
Buy Costanza at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Renegade Books; pub date 1st August 2024 / HB / £18.99. Buy at Amazon com.
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