Leonardo's Swans

(This review first appeared in the May 2006 issue of The Historical Novels Review, Editor's Choice) Leonardo da Vinci has become quite popular these days, as has the historical novel featuring an intrepid woman ahead of her time, with an abiding interest in Art. Doubleday is clearly capitalizing on these facts in marketing Karen Essex's novel, LEONARDO'S SWANS. The strategy will undoubtedly sell books, but it does not begin to do justice to Essex's haunting account of the sibling rivalry between two princesses of the Renaissance--Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Mantua, and her younger sister, Beatrice, wife of Il Moro, Duke of Milan. Told from the eyes of both sisters, the novel starts with deceptive superficiality, as the elegantly adept Isabella engages in a competitive battle for supremacy with the wilder and less intellectually accomplished Beatrice. Through a mere matter of poor timing, Beatrice has wed a more powerful and intellectually stimulating man--an event that perplexes Isabella, for how can the vagaries of fortune have allowed someone of Beatrice's pedestrian aspirations to seize the prize that is Milan? Moreover, Milan commands the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, acclaimed court painter and engineer to Il Moro. Determined to outshine her sister, Isabella sets herself to be immortalized by Leonardo's brush, while Beatrice steers a resolute course to wealth and power. But larger political concerns soon overwhelm the oblivious self-aggrandizement and foibles of these Renaissance sisters. Both are tested to their limits and beyond, compelled to discover an inner strength that will ultimately exalt one and destroy the other. Threaded within their story is Leonardo's relentless pursuit for knowledge and reverence for the fragility of life, which elevates him from the ambitions of those he most serve. Despite a sometimes-distracting mix of past and present tense, this is a rare novel that captures an era of unparalleled personality, the like of which shall never be seen again.

Historical fiction at its finest aptly describes "Leonardo's Swans," which is rich in period detail and court intrigue. A voice performance at its finest is also an appropriate description of Elizabeth Sartre's narration. She brings alive the longings and loves of two sisters in Renaissance Italy. Ferrara is home to Isabella and Beatrice. They're close together in age but miles apart in personality. "Beatrice is a puzzle to Isabella, a fact that the older sister blames on the girl's unsupervised upbringing in wild Naples." Isabella is engaged to Francesco, while the younger Beatrice will wed Ludovico, the future Duke of Milan. These marriages had been arranged when the girls were 5 and 6 years of age. It little mattered at the time which girl would be wed to which man as long as the match was beneficial for the city-state of Ferrara. In later life the girls will be rivals as Isabella catches the eye of Ludovico, a man lacking in morals with a beautiful mistress, to say nothing of being her brother-in-law. He may have met his match in the ambitious Isabella who would use him so that his court painter, Leonardo da Vinci, might capture her image in oils. These maneuverinsg are set against the plotting of France's rulers to invade Italy. Essex depicts the Renaissance with all its ribaldry and rivalry - wonderful listening! - Gail Cooke

Since the beginning of recorded history, and undoubtedly prior to that, sex and politics have always been intertwined. Throw art, the quest for fame and immortality, and sibling rivalry into the mix, and you have the ingredients of Leonardo's Swans, a novel about the intense and treacherous court of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, the patron under whom Leonardo da Vinci created most of his important works. The story is mainly about two aristocratic sisters, Beatrice and Isabella d'Este, the latter of whom became the major art collector of her day. Beatrice married the Duke of Milan, but Isabella always felt that Beatrice had stolen her fate. To compensate, Isabella was determined to have herself immortalized in oil by the great Leonardo da Vinci. But Beatrice, who was aware that Isabella had designs on her husband too, had other plans for her sister. This is a rivalry literally to the death between two women who basically love each other, but who have been pitted against each other by their own need for the attentions of the most powerful men in the courts of Europe and by the political ambitions of their husbands and father. Leonardo da Vinci is the prize at the end of their quest, but the artist proves to be even more elusive than power itself. This is a pretty wild ride of a story, but at the end, in the author's notes, you find out that it's all true! The characters in the book really are the women in Leonardo's paintings. The notes at the end even tell you where to go to see the originals. By the way, I am an architect, and I really enjoyed the detailed and accurate descriptions of the churches, palaces, and monuments of the period. I've always felt that Milan's historic architecture has taken a back seat to Florence for far too long.

I don't normally read historical fiction. I prefer to learn about the past from historical sources and well-researched biography. However, someone gave me Karen Essex' book Kleopatra, which was extremely vivid and intelligent, plus, TIME Magazine recommended this one, so I thought I'd give it a try. Leonardo's Swans is a rich tale of da Vinci's years in Milan as told through the points of view of the bold and brilliant Este sisters. It's a beautifully written portrait of the Renaissance as well as a unique, behind-the scenes investigation of the creation of Leonardo's most important paintings like "The Last Supper" and "The Virgin of the Rocks." The two sisters, rivaling for power, fame, and immortality, on a dangerous chessboard where the stakes are life and death, are unforgettable. The excerpts from Leonardo's notebooks, plus the fun scenes in which he frustrates his patrons by refusing to finish any of their "vanity projects" present a heretofore untold picture of the artist not as a great icon, or as a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but as a man. Full of fascinating facts and great descriptive language, I enjoyed this book on many levels.

Stop reading this review and buy this book immediately! Seriously, this is a fabulous tale of intrigue, romance and people behaving so badly that you'll literally gasp out loud. These characters make "Desperate Housewives" look like amateurs, but they were real. I was so impressed by Karen Essex's ability to research every tiny detail about the Renaissance world. Then she weaves it into an amazing story that is captivating and easy to read, and every word is so perfectly chosen that they are like a tiny piece of chocolate for your brain--without the calories. You'll love the strong female characters and the lush descriptions of people and places. And you'll want to book a trip to Italy immediately.