#647 : Eternally Artemesia by Melissa Muldoon - Review

Having read this writer's previous book, I was utterly confident that this story would end up increasing my desire to visit Italy and soak in it's culture. The writing and the story ended up exceeding my expectations. 

The story goes back and forth between two different yet very similar strong woman across different timelines with a beautiful converging point. Maddie, an art therapist is drawn to Italy by the art and culture the country has to offer, while Artemesia was a bold 16th century painter who was brutally raped and faced trial and was finally made an outcast for standing up for her rights. While Maddie has an inkling that she has lived a previous life, the proof to it just seems too far to reach until she moves to Italy to meets Camilla, an descender of the noble Crociani family who is a part the sexual assault and abuse survivor group who is counselled by Maddie. Camilla invites her to a family gather and "the past" of which she has an inkling blends with her present. 

The writing and the story was such an absolute delight to read. The writer has beautifully woven an intricate tale with multiple tones which perfectly captures the strength and determination of women who thrive brilliantly in testing times. Sadly, the book has been very aptly titled as "Eternally Artemesia" for all the trials that she faced, the rape, the abuse, the gross injustice, seems to be meted out to women of today's times as well. It literally feels like an "eternity" of  problems for women. 

With a perfect blend of history, art, romance and a bit of gore, the book was an absolute delight to read. 

Thanks to Laura of Italy book tours for picking such a book yet again! 

---

Meet the Author:  

Melissa Muldoon is the author of three novels set in Italy: “Dreaming Sophia,” “Waking Isabella,” and “Eternally Artemisia.” All three books tell the stories of American women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future in Italy.

Melissa is also the author of the Studentessa Matta website, where she promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog written in Italian and English (studentessamatta.com). Studentessa Matta means the “crazy linguist” and has grown to include a podcast, Tutti Matti per l'Italiano and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel, Facebook page and Instagram feed. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Programs, which she co-leads with Italian schools in Italy to learn Italian in Italy. Through her website, she also offers the opportunities to live and study in Italy through Homestay programs. Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master's degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

She has also studied painting and art history in Florence. She is an artist, designer, and illustrated the cover art for all three of her books. Melissa is also the managing director of Matta Press. As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she’d never need it again, but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That “thing” was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event. Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency—a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways. Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Eternally Artemisia, Waking Isabella, and Dreaming Sophia.

She also curates the Dreaming Sophia Art History blog site and Pinterest site: The Art of Loving Italy, where you will find companion pictures for all three books. Visit MelissaMuldoon.com for more information about immersion trips to learn the language with Melissa in Italy, as well as the Studentessa Matta blog for practice and tips to learn the Italian language.

​Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook  ~  Pinterest  ~ Instagram