I love the idea that each book is numbered and limited, they're extra special because they're personalised with those sought-after signatures, and they are not on tip-in pages. Imbued with historical detail and suffused with imagination, this is an exceptional work of biographical fiction. Elizabeth Fremantle had created a novel about a lady who is someone we should all revere and respect. This a story so beautifully written with such class and elegance along with empowering passion and strength and I found it impossible to put down. In the same year she painted her infamous Judith , and one of the great Renaissance masters was born.

The amazing thing about Artemisia is that she was so talented that people were forced to overlook the fact that she was a woman. Jealousy, vengeance, and the male expectation of unchallenged dominance seek to thwart an artist’s aspirations and destroy her career and reputation, but she will prove to be stronger than they are. It transports to reader to early seventeenth century Rome and nothing in the writing distracts from that world. But from the brutal rape sprung her most renowned paintings, full of unflinching violence and passion.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. This seventh novel takes us to 17th century Italy and tells the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most important and accomplished female painters of her time. A huge amount of fretting is spent depicting how Artemisia isn't free, how she can't go wherever she wants, how she is constantly chaperoned, yet her rapist attempts to assault her when she is without a chaperone.

Artemisia Gentileschi’s painting skills quickly surpass her father’s, but society dictates that as a woman, she must stay home and protect her virtue. It does all this to further the idea that Artemisia was ahead of her time, that the establishment (men) couldn't understand her, and that she had feminism all figured out before it had ever been invented. Shocking, gripping, Fremantle has crafted a tale that vividly evokes Baroque Italy by portraying a strong, assertive women. Known for her strong character and exquisite - yet brutally honest - depiction of life through her art, Artemisia Gentileschi appears as alive in this novel as she does on the canvas.Tassi is dashing, charming, and hugely gifted in his field, and for a fleeting moment he represents everything that a life of freedom offers. This is an exquisitely written novel, set in 17th century Rome about the extraordinary painter, Artemisia Gentileschi.

Please note that images of special editions are digitally constructed by the publisher and may differ from the final product due to the production process. And when her painting tutor attacks her, it sets off a cascade of seemingly insurmountable problems and impossible choices. Artemisia wants to become an artist but she lives in a mans world,which includes her father following rules,. I don’t think it’s my favourite of her novels, simply because some of the other settings and historical figures she has written about have interested me more, but I still enjoyed this book and am pleased to have had the opportunity to add to my knowledge of this fascinating artist. Disobedient is not easy to read because of what Artemisia Gentileschi, a genius Italian painter has to deal with as a female in late 16th and early 17th century Rome.Gripping, captivating, and consistently enlightening, DISOBEDIENT firmly places Gentileschi as one of the greatest artists and heroines in history. Her father is her early influence and mentor in developing her paint style, but she eclipses him as a teenager and he can't face it. As well as Artemisia, there are other characters in the novel who are equally well drawn; I’ve already mentioned Tassi and Artemisia’s father Orazio, but there’s also Zita, who becomes a model and chaperone for Artemisia, and Piero, Orazio’s assistant.