Review | Leonardo’s Swans by Karen Essex

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Anchor
Release Date: January 9th, 2007
Source: Personal collection, I purchased this book.

Steeped in the excitement and dangers of 15th Century Renaissance Italy, Leonardo’s Swans was a fascinating book. It covered a vast array of historical events, from the rising tensions amongst the unstable Italian city-states, to the French invasion of Italy by Charles VIII, to the election of the corrupt Borgia Pope to the Vatican. The book had its occasional anachronism, but as a whole, I think fans of historical fiction who like a well researched book will really appreciate this intricate novel.

Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential “Renaissance man,” is a side character in this book, and I enjoyed learning the secrets and stories behind some of his most famous works, especially The Lady with an Ermine. His “swans” refers to the noble d’Este sisters: Isabella, who marries the future Duke of Mantua, and Beatrice, who marries “Il Moro,” the legendary Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. Ludovico is also one of Leonardo’s greatest patrons, and his wife and her sister engage in a rivalry to be immortalized in oils by the great Maestro.

The only problem is that the fickle Leonardo begins many projects, yet finishes very few of them, as he is easily distracted by ideas of grandeur. Every time he begins one commission, another, more intriguing project manifests itself in his mind. One can see why Leonardo was so easily distracted, for he was not only a painter, but also Ludovico’s weapons mastermind, a scientist, an engineer, an inventor, a mathematician, an anatomist, a botanist…the list goes on. I really liked reading the excerpts from Leonardo’s notebooks on the first page of every chapter; little touches like these make this book special.

The d’Este sisters were both strong, opinionated females living in times when women were meant to be meek and appeasing. I could respect Isabella for her knowledge and love of the arts, but I felt like I kept waiting for one of these two women to emerge as my protagonist, and neither one of the d’Este sisters was truly likeable as a person. There was also a certain point through the book when I sensed a major disconnect in the relationship between Isabella and Beatrice that seemed inconsistent to me. Isabella goes from being Beatrice’s arch nemesis to her champion all too quickly; we don’t really see a strong impetus for this change of heart. I loved this book in the beginning, the storyline in the middle section got monotonous at points, but overall it is a very good read, and the book’s many strengths more than make up for the slower middle bits. If you like your hist-fic books heavy on the “hist,” (I do!) then this book is for you!

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