The Midwife of Venice
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Product Description
Book Description
A rollicking, fast-paced historical debut set against the richness and squalor of sixteenth-century Venice and Malta.
Product Description
At midnight, the dogs, cats, and rats rule Venice. The Ponte di Ghetto Nuovo, the bridge that leads to the ghetto, trembles under the weight of sacks of rotting vegetables, rancid fat, and vermin. Seeping refuse on the streets renders the pavement slick and the walking treacherous.
It was on such a night that the men came for Hannah.
Hannah Levi is famed throughout Venice for her skills as a midwife but, as a Jew, the law forbids her from attending a Christian woman.
However, when the Conte appears at her door in the dead of night,Hannah's compassion is sorely tested. And with the handsome reward he is offering, she could ransom back her husband, currently imprisoned on the island of Malta.
But if she fails in her endeavours to save mother and child, will she be able to save herself, let alone her husband?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I must admit, I was confused by this novel. It started well, with a richly descriptive backdrop and intriguing characters. Then the plot seemed to turn into a melodramatic soap opera filled with unbelievable turns of events and coincidences.
Hannah, a Jewish midwife, is called upon to assist with the difficult birth of a Christian noblewoman. As this contradicts the laws of time, she requests a large sum of money in return for a successful delivery. Her methods are frowned upon in her superstitious society and she risks being tried as a witch. But this is a risk she is willing to take to rescue her husband from a life of slavery.
I'd recommend this book if you enjoy historical novels requiring a huge leap of the imagination. One ridiculous scene set on board a ship had me laughing out loud whilst shaking my head in disbelief!
Hannah, a Jewish midwife, is called upon to assist with the difficult birth of a Christian noblewoman. As this contradicts the laws of time, she requests a large sum of money in return for a successful delivery. Her methods are frowned upon in her superstitious society and she risks being tried as a witch. But this is a risk she is willing to take to rescue her husband from a life of slavery.
I'd recommend this book if you enjoy historical novels requiring a huge leap of the imagination. One ridiculous scene set on board a ship had me laughing out loud whilst shaking my head in disbelief!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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This is a good tale, well-told, of a husband and wife, separated by circumstances, and their efforts to re-unite. The midwife of the title is Jewish, and this complicates her story, as the only way she can see to ransom her husband (captured by the Templars) is to assist at the birth of a Gentile child - a criminal act. Essentially, that's it; but the plot twists and turns in an entertaining manner, so that the reader is seldom bored, despite being fairly certain of the book's ending (it's that sort of book). The only thing getting in the way of complete enjoyment is the author's research, obviously necessary for the background, but too often thrust into the foreground, which is at times annoying. It is not the task of the reader to follow in the footsteps of a researcher. I didn't find it over-intrusive, but I have read Casanova's memoirs, so already have some familiarity with the workings of the Venetian state at the time and many of its customs, practices and the rule of the Ten. By chance, I'm also fairly familiar with Jewish history from my own reading habits. I rather hope that we get another book from the same period, as it is one of considerable interest, and I can't resist historical novels. More, please.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I chose this book because I like historical novels and I have been to Venice. I loved it from the first page and could hardly put it down! At first I was annoyed that Rich "divides" her story between Hannah in Venice and Isaac, her husband in Valetta. Just as you are getting engrossed in the action in Venice, you are whisked away to Valetta. In fact you are often left "suspended" and have to wait until you are engrossed in Isaac's situation in Valetta before you can find out what is happening to Hannah back in Venice. After a couple of these sudden switches between the two places, I settled down and thoroughly enjoyed the book. Sixteenth century Venice is described graphically in places, and so is the job of the midwife. Maybe a bit gory at times but that is how it was then, I'm sure. I did not think that the Valetta aspects were so well drawn and felt that Rich was more comfortable with the Venice scenes. But, I can certainly recommend this book, and look forward to her next one.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
I couldn't put this book down
I won't repeat a synosis of the book, but I will say it was a real page turner and I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Abs
I could almost taste and smell it!
This book was easy reading at its very best. The story romped along and was at times a bit absurd, but what I did like was that I would never have ordinarily picked it to read... Read more
Published 23 days ago by FLB
An undemanding but enjoyable romp
Despite the preposterous story I actually enjoyed this as good bedtime reading fodder. I usually demand more of my reading but as a plane, train, airport or holiday read it's fine. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Nick Flynn
Love suspense and love? Read this!
Hannah Levi is famous throughout Venice for her skills as a midwife, but as a Jew, she's not allowed to help Christian women. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Boeklover
flat
If the novel was half exciting as the blurb it would be a great book! I found the characters rather two dimensional and the parallel stories of the husband and wife rather dull and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by artemisrhi
Disappointing
This could have been a much better book if the two main characters had been more engaging. As it was, I found that I didn't really care what happened to them, and found it a bit of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Basement Cat
It's not as good as I thought
I wasn't blown away by this book it starts off slowly. The author paints a good picture of the time but I have to say that I haven't finished this book and didn't find it held me... Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. E. Cooper
Rich in detail
The Midwife of Venice is an extremely interesting historical read. The book moves between two main stories, Hannah's in 16th Century Venice and her husband Isaac's in Malta where... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dot
extremely easy, enjoyable read.
Roberta rich captures the rotting decay of medieval Venice perfectly.She does not shy away from the stupidity of bigotry, but does not allow that to over take the novel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. M. L. Cawood-campbell
Jews and Gentiles
In addition to portraying inherent conflicts of 16th century Jewish and Christian beliefs and highlighting the gulf between them, within each faith `The Midwife of Venice' also... Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Elliott
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