The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy

Bowen, Marjorie, 1888-1952Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.6
Word count
553K words
Chapters
56

Tags

English Originals Historical Fiction Historical ReappraisalLegendary LivesPower GamesAntiheroLove and HateComplex HumanityItalian City-StatesPre-Renaissance

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy by Marjorie BowenAuthor: Bowen, Marjorie, 1888-1952,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: May 15, 2015

Editor's review

This novel is the representative historical romance by the English writer Marjorie Bowen. Set in Renaissance Milan, its plot unfolds around tyrants and intrigue, loyalty and betrayal. Bowen excels at recreating court politics with vivid imagery and tight dramatic conflict; her characters have clear motivations, the pacing is brisk, and the book combines the passion of romance with the atmosphere of historical fiction. For readers who want to experience the political turbulence of the Italian city-states through fiction and enjoy strong plotting, this is an immersive reading experience. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, it is easy to obtain and makes an accessible historical novel for those beginning to read in English, as well as a good companion to similar historical romances for appreciating the narrative pleasures of early twentieth-century popular historical fiction. Readers need not scrutinize historical details too closely; it is better enjoyed as a richly colored historical panorama.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the preface first or look up the background of the Duchy of Milan; the character relationships will be easier to follow.
  2. Prepare a character chart and track changes in alliances and motivations as you read.
  3. When using it for extensive English reading, do not look up every word; focus first on following the plot.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56

FAQ

What English level is this book suitable for? It is an early twentieth-century English historical novel, slightly more formal in syntax than modern popular fiction but strongly plot-driven. Readers with roughly CET-4 reading ability who are willing to tolerate some unfamiliar words can try it; for extensive reading, read through for the plot first and do not get stuck on individual archaic expressions.
Do I need to know Italian history before reading? Not strictly, but knowing the political landscape of Renaissance Milan will clearly improve the reading experience. At minimum, knowing that Italian city-states coexisted at the time and that family powers and mercenaries were intertwined will help you better understand the intrigues and character choices in the book.
Is this book suitable as English learning material? It is suitable as extensive reading material for intermediate and advanced English learners. It is a free public-domain ebook, easy to obtain, and its narrative is coherent, which can train stamina for long-form reading; however, because it involves historical names and places, it is best read with a character list and with emphasis on understanding the plot rather than intensive sentence-by-sentence study.

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About the author

Bowen, Marjorie, 1888-1952 Author

Marjorie Bowen (1888–1952) was a British writer best known for her historical novels; her real name was Gabrielle Margaret Vere Long, and Bowen was her usual pen name. Her works are mostly set against European history, and she excelled at intertwining real political struggles and court intrigues with individual destinies, with tightly paced plots and a strong atmosphere. Ten of her works are included in the collection, among them The Viper of Milan, The Master of Stair, God and the King, The Governor of England, and Prince and Heretic; these titles alone show her preference for themes such as shifts of power, religious conflict, and the fate of the nobility. Public information about the details of her life is limited. Her works were popular with readers in the early twentieth century and have had some influence on later popular historical fiction.