Juliet Greenwood is the author of seven historical novels her latest being with Storm Publishing She has long been inspired by the histories of the women in her family and in particular with how strong minded and independent women have overcome the limitations imposed on them by the constraints of their time and also with the way generations of women hold families and communities together in times of crisis including WW2 After graduating in English from Lancaster University and Kings College London Juliet worked on a variety of jobs to support her ambition to be a full time writer These ranged from running a craft stall at Covent Garden to collecting oral histories of traditional villages before they are lost forever and rece Juliet Greenwood is the author of seven historical novels her latest being with Storm Publishing She has long been inspired by the histories of the women in her family and in particular with how strong minded and independent women have overcome the limitations imposed on them by the constraints of their time and also with the way generations of women hold families and communities together in times of crisis including WW2 After graduating in English from Lancaster University and Kings College London Juliet worked on a variety of jobs to support her ambition to be a full time writer These ranged from running a craft stall at Covent Garden to collecting oral histories of traditional villages before they are lost forever and recently as a freelance editor and proof reader She finally achieved her dream of becoming a published author following a debilitating viral illness with her first novel being a finalist for The People s Book Prize and her first two novels reaching 4 and 5 in the UK Kindle store Juliet now lives in a traditional quarryman s cottage in Snowdonia North Wales set between the mountains and the sea with an overgrown garden good for insects and a surprisingly successful grapevine She can be found dog walking in all weathers camera to hand site_link 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 The Secret Daughter of VeniceKate Arden has always felt like the odd one out in her family and she looks different to her siblings she has three sisters Rosalind Bianca and Cordelia and two brothers Will and Jamie They live near the village of Brierley at Stratford up Avon and her father Leo owns Arden House a crumbling estate. Miss Parsons is the local school teacher and runs the museum she s given girls the volumes of Shakespeare left to them by their late mother and her friend Celia hidden between the pages is a message and they need to find it and it gives each of them an idea of what she wants for their futures After looking at her book of Sonnets Kate can t find anything and Ms Parson s tells her not to give up Sure enough Kate finds a collection of sketches they bring back flashes of memories of a place and a lady who taught her to draw She knows she travelled to England by boat where she used to live was warm and a woman accompanied her on the ship and Kate doesn t think she s her mother Kate is a talented artist her father wouldn t let her go to Slade School of Fine Art instead he wants her to marry and boost the coffers and so Arden House will remain in the family and especially with Will and Jamie away fighting in World War Two. Sofia Armstrong returns to Venice the family maid Magdalena thinks she s crazy and tells her it s not safe and her vindictive mother has fled Sofia wants to find her daughter the one that was stolen away from her twenty years ago and she has no idea where she is and how will she locate her now The reader is taken on a long and emotional journey starting in 1941 from Stratford up Avon to Cornwall Naples Pompeii the Roman ruins and Mount Vesuvius and Venice and its jewellery made from Murano Glass Jamie Arden thinks he found remains of a Roman mosaic near Arden House in the first book of the series The Shakespeare Sisters and Kate finds a little glass Roman bottle in the second. I received a copy of The Secret Daughter of Venice by Juliet Greenwood from Storm Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review This book focuses on Kate her finding her mother why she was taken to Arden House and two big secrets are revealed and I didn t see them coming. Full of new and old characters I really like Alma Miss Parsons Cordelia Gina and Peter Sidoli Doctor Conti Kate and Sofia Marco and grumpy Magdalena A captivating and memorable historical drama about art lost love treachery greed control and the destruction of Naples hundreds of orphans left to wander the streets and the homelessness caused by the war was really sad Five stars from me I enjoyed The Shakespeare Sisters and I adored The Secret Daughter of Venice and Juliet Greenwood has really upped the ante with her latest novel and I can t wait for the next book in the series English The Secret Daughter of Venice was a very captivating historical fiction book by Juliet Greenwood I had not read the first book in this series previously but that did not hamper my enjoyment of this one The Secret Daughter of Venice was the second book I had read by Juliet Greenwood After reading both of her books I was quite impressed by her writing impeccable research choice of characters and points of history she had chosen to write about There was a strong element of mystery throughout The Secret Daughter of Venice as well as a touch of love romance friendship belonging and an overwhelming desire to find and solve a puzzle that lay just beyond reach Kate Arden had been told that she had been adopted by the Arden family for as long as she could remember She lived with her very controlling father Leo her sisters Rosalind Bianca and Cordelia and her two brothers Will and Jamie at the Arden estate located in Brierley at Stratford Upon Avon in England Her mother had died and she had a stepmother now Even though Kate loved her sisters and brothers dearly she never quite felt as if she fit in belonged and was truly a part of this influential and wealthy family There had always been a nagging thought in back of her mind that she was not able to quite capture about her true identity and who her real family had been. In 1941 Kate found herself at the Arden Estate missing her sisters and brothers She tried to help with the plantings and gathering of vegetables as much as possible on the farmland they still possessed Arden Estate once very grand was in great disrepair Kate s brother Jamie had unearthed and discovered remains of a Roman structure from long ago buried on their property One day as Kate worked in the garden she came upon a beautiful cup made from glass She was excited to discover the origins of the cup so Kate convinced her stepmother to let her accompany her to the market Once in town Kate planned to consult Miss Parsons the local teacher and also the proprietor of the local museum about the cup s history Miss Parsons had been a very close friend and confidant of the late Mrs Arden Celia Arden had asked Miss Parsons to present each of her daughters with a book of Shakespeare s sonnets upon her death Buried in each book was a hidden message from Celia that pertained to her hope for each of her daughter s futures After Miss Parsons examined the cup and promised to clean it up and try and trace its roots Miss Parsons inquired if Kate had discovered the hidden message her mother had left for her in the book Kate had forgotten about the book since she had found no hidden messages initially She just assumed that her mother had left the message out of her book After all Kate had been adopted Miss Parsons assured Kate that there was indeed a message hidden somewhere in her book and Miss Parsons encouraged Kate to keep looking When Kate arrived back at Arden Estate she went directly to her room to re examine the book What she found hidden in the spine of the book both surprised Kate and triggered memories she had only glimpsed at in her dreams Before her Kate stared at the drawings of places that she was sure had something to do with her and her past She recalled a time long ago when someone had taught her lovingly and patiently to draw too Those drawings would be the catalyst to help Kate discover who she was and who her real mother was Kate embarked on a journey that took her from Stratford Upon Avon to Cornwall to Naples to Pompeii to Mount Vesuvius to Venice She was able to cultivate her artistic talents teach and care for innocent orphan children who were victims of the war use her art as a healing mechanism to help the orphans cope with their losses and their grief and form several meaningful relationships and friendships on her journey Would Kate be able to discover her own story and fill in the gaps that had been beyond her reach for all these years of her life Will Kate be able to finally find her mother and pursue her dreams of becoming an artist I really enjoyed reading The Secret Daughter of Venice by Juliet Greenwood At some point I may go back and read the first book in this series but I am definitely excited about reading the next one There were several secrets that were hinted at throughout the book They were all presented by the conclusion of this very memorable book I was totally caught off guard when one particular secret was revealed I had not seen it coming The Secret Daughter of Venice captured the love for art Kate encompassed her natural artistic talent mother daughter relationships love taking control of other s lives loss deceit greed friendship and family All my emotions were stirred while reading The Secret Daughter of Venice I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Storm Publishing for allowing me to read The Secret Daughter of Venice by Juliet Greenwood through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review English The Secret Daughter of Venice by Juliet GreenwoodSynopsis 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. My Thoughts First and foremost a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley Storm Publishing and author Juliet Greenwood for providing me with a copy of this publication which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review Publication date is currently set for May 14 2024. Have you ever wondered where your love for something has originated from Your love of a particular type of music art or history Did it come from a parent a grandparent an aunt or some other family member or mentor Kate Arden has a passion for sketching drawing and painting She s loved art particularly sketching and drawing since she was a child She has fading snippets of memories of elegant fingers and slender long arms guiding her own as she was drawing A smooth velvety voice lovingly encouraging her to pick up and pencil and draw She can t remember the face but she can remember that voice and how it made her feel loved and cherished. Kate Arden grew up in England on the family estate She had brothers and sisters a loving mother but her father was a very controlling patriarch Although Kate loved her siblings dearly she always had a niggling feeling that she was somehow different from those surrounding her in her immediate family Her earliest memories are not from England but from someplace else She dreams about water grape vines of a villa filled with paintings Before she died Kate s mother gave her a book and told her that inside that book were the answers to her questions about her past Taking a closer look Kate discovered a series of sketched drawings hidden within the binding of the old book Kate knew that these sketches were meant for her and the she looked at them the her memories of a time long ago started to resurface And now she begins her journey to discover the truth about her original heritage. Author Juliet Greenwood has written Kate s story in three parts and I must confess to enjoying the later parts Chapters alternate between two locations England and Venice and two voices Kate s and Sofia s Kate s mother And although the main plot thread is Kate s story I enjoyed reading Sofia s story a little I think because Sofia s family dynamic was interesting I was a little detached from Kate and that detachment left me distanced from her part in the story I needed something to pull me in I did enjoy the Venetian setting The descriptions of the waterways waterbuses and gondolas The sights and the smells the descriptions of the buildings and cafes the artwork and the people that all made compelling reading It was just unfortunate that Kate s plot thread was slow and dare I say became a little boring to wade through I started skimming not a good sign I did enjoy the ending and thought Greenwood did a good job of combining the two stories together to end with a satisfying conclusion. Finishing this one has sparked an interest to learn about Venice and this time period The author also mentions Pompeii archaeological excavations and artifacts which I m also keen to know about. 5 sThe war was rumbling through England and the continent in 1941 and Kate Arden of Arden House had never felt separated from her family Her Papa almost seemed like he hated her she was desperate to get away and when the opening to accompany orphans to Cornwall fell in her lap she grabbed it with both hands Kate loved to sketch and knew her fleeting memories of the long ago past had something to do with that Her deep emotional feelings toward Venice even though she was assured she d never been there made her vow that once the war was over she d go to Venice. Would Kate make it to Venice and would she find the people from her past Her mother her real mother beckoned in a shadowy fashion Kate was determined to find her if it was the last thing she didThe Secret Daughter of Venice is my first by Juliet Greenwood and I enjoyed it The last third of the book kept my interest deeply than the earlier pages Venice the war damage the volcano eruption and the urgency of finding someone lost I enjoyed Cornwall and caring for the orphans in the castle along with the terror of bombers that flew overhead while mothers and children were on the beach Recommended. With thanks to NetGalley Storm Publishing for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review English It is World War 2 1941 and Kate Arden is living in England with her family but she does know that she is not truly an Arden although she does not know the full story of her arriving at Arden House when she was a very young girl but she has found some paintings of Venice in a book of sonnets left to her by her adoptive mother and this brings back some memories of when she was young of a boat journey and this has her wanting she wants to know about her past will she ever find out. Venice 1941 and Sofia Armstrong has returned to Venice arriving at the home she grew up in with her terrible mother The Contessa she is not in residence but Magdalena her mother s maid is still there troubling times are coming their way with the Germans just about to arrive but Sofia wants to finally find out where her daughter is will she find her after all of these years I did enjoy this story the characters the mystery and the settings were all so good it was a bit slow to begin with and it took me some time to get into the story but once I did the characters came to life. My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to read and review English
| The Secret Daughter of Venice By Juliet Greenwood |
| 1805083333 |
| 9781805083337 |
| English |
| 401 |
| Kindle Edition |
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