*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity. This review is being posted as part of the The Secret Daughter Of Venice blog tour hosted by Rachel's Random Resources.
Title: The Secret Daughter Of Venice
Author: Juliet Greenwood
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★
The paper is stiff and brittle with age as Kate unfolds it with
trembling hands. She gasps at the pencil sketch of a rippling waterway, lined
by tall buildings, curving towards the dome of a cathedral. She feels a
connection deep in her heart. Venice.
England, 1941. When Kate Arden discovers a secret stash of drawings hidden in
the pages of an old volume of poetry given to her as a baby, her breath
catches. All her life, she has felt like an outsider in her aristocratic
adoptive family, who refuse to answer any questions about her past. But the
drawings spark a forgotten memory: a long journey by boat… warm arms that held
her tight, and then let go.
Could
these pictures unlock the secret of who she is? Why her mother left her? With
war raging around the continent, she will brave everything to find out…
A gripping, emotional historical novel of love and art that will captivate fans of The Venice Sketchbook, The Woman on the Bridge and The Nightingale.
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The Secret Daughter
Of Venice is the latest enchanting novel from historical fiction author Juliet
Greenwood. Her last novel The Last Train From Paris was one of my
standout reads from 2023 (click here to read my review) so I was eagerly anticipating
the release of her next novel and it certainly did not disappoint.
Exploring themes
such as identity, family and belonging, we follow Kate Arden as she tries to
piece together her identity using the few memories she has of her life in Italy
before she was sent to be raised in England. She also discovers that her birth mother
has left her clues within a Shakespeare book and Kate uses these to help her
discover who she is and where she belongs, after growing up feeling different
to the rest of her family.
The Secret Daughter
Of Venice is perfect for readers who are looking for a generally lighter historical
read. Anyone who likes a good historical mystery will also enjoy following Kate’s
journey and trying to piece together all of the clues as they are slowly uncovered.
I was kept guessing throughout the story and thought the ending tied everything
together really nicely.
Our story is
split into three parts, with chapters set in both England and Italy, during and
in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. I particularly loved the chapters
set in Naples and Venice as Juliet Greenwood’s captivating storytelling really
made the Italian settings come alive on the page. With most WW2 fiction ending in
1945, it was really interesting to have the third part of the book set in 1946
to see how both Italy and England were recovering after the war. I also loved
the vivid descriptions of Cornwall and exploring Kate’s work with the child
evacuees.
Kate was a
fantastic strong female protagonist. I particularly loved the feminist aspect
to the story through her and her sisters’ refusal to marry men picked out by
their father and have their lives controlled by a husband, even if it was the ‘done
thing’ in the 1940s. Connecting Kate and her birth mother was a passion for art
and through them we got to explore communities of female artists which existed
in pre and post war Europe, which was really interesting.
Sofia was another
brilliant strong female character. I loved how similar Kate and Sofia’s
voices were within the story, showing the similarities between mother and daughter.
The Contessa was a fantastically written antagonist whose story I thought would
make a fantastic book in itself. She was cold, cruel and uncaring; completely
opposite in character to what you’d expect from a grandmother.
Overall, The Secret Daughter Of Venice is a powerful and easy read for fans of historical fiction. It has further cemented Juliet Greenwood’s place as a real must-read author for me within historical fiction.
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