Disobedient

Disobedient

The gripping feminist retelling of a seventeenth century heroine forging her own destiny

Summary

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I'll show you what a woman can do . . .

Rome 1611.

A jewel-bright place of change, with sumptuous new palaces and lavish wealth on display. A city where women are seen but not heard.

Artemisia Gentileschi dreams of becoming a great artist. Motherless, she grows up among a family of painters - men and boys. She knows she is more talented than her brothers, but she cannot choose her own future. She wants to experience the world, but she belongs to her father and will belong to a husband.

As Artemisia patiently goes from lesson to lesson, perfecting her craft, she also paints in private, recreating the women who inspire her, away from her father's eyes.

Until a mysterious tutor enters her life. Tassi is a dashing figure, handsome and worldly, and for a moment he represents everything that a life of freedom might offer. But then the unthinkable happens.

In the eyes of her family, Artemisia should accept her fate. In the eyes of the law, she is the villain.

But Artemisia is a survivor. And this is her story to tell.

'An exhilarating read. Through effervescent prose, Elizabeth Fremantle brings the story of artist Artemisia Gentileschi to life. Gripping, captivating, and consistently enlightening, Disobedient firmly places Gentileschi as one of the greatest female heroines in history'
KATY HESSEL

©2023 E C Fremantle (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Reviews

  • Magical, thrilling, wonderful, excellent. Heartpoundingly tense and absolutely engrossing. Clever, amazing and inspiring
    Daily Mail

About the author

Elizabeth Fremantle

Elizabeth Fremantle is the critically acclaimed author of four Tudor historical novels: Queen's Gambit (soon to be the feature film, Firebrand), Sisters of Treason, Watch the Lady and The Girl in the Glass Tower. As E.C. Fremantle she has written two gripping historical thrillers: The Poison Bed and The Honey and the Sting. Her most recent novel, Disobedient, is a gripping feminist retelling of the life of seventeenth-century Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi. She lives in London.
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