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    In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel
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    In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel
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    In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel

    Written by Sarah Dunant

    Narrated by Richard Grant

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor's army blew a hole in the wall of God's eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.

    Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant's epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid.

    With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her.

    Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan's court. But Fiammetta and Bucino's greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all.

    A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the world's greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 14, 2006
    ISBN9780739325070
    Unavailable
    In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel
    Author

    Sarah Dunant

    SARAH DUNANT is the author of the international bestsellers The Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, Sacred Hearts and Blood and Beauty (her first look at the Borgia family), which have received major acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her earlier novels include three Hannah Wolfe crime thrillers, as well as Snowstorms in a Hot Climate, Transgressions and Mapping the Edge. She has two daughters and lives in London and Florence.

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    Reviews for In the Company of the Courtesan

    3.5/5

    744 ratings51 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The author has painted a fascinating portrait of Venice in the troubled sixteenth century. I found the book to be entertaining and the characters very realistic. However I would have preferred it to have been less wordy without so much repetition. Overall...an interesting account of a very talented courtesan and her devoted dwarf.
    • 4/5
      Great with 16th century Venice, though I suspect a couple of things might have been from later centuries.
    • 3/5
      Last fall I read and reviewed Sarah Dunant's latest book "The Blood and the Beauty", a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I have always been a fan of Dunant finding her historical fiction easy to read, enjoyable and always well researched. So I sought this one out for no reason other than I wanted to read more of her work and had somehow missed this one published back in 2007.Essentially this one is the story of a famous beauty Fiametta Bianchini and her sidekick business manager, companion, and friend Bucino Teodoldi the dwarf. Bucino narrates the story, and his point of view is what makes this one so much fun. Together with Tiziano Vecellio (a thinly veiled Titian) they provide us with the male point of view on this distinctly female occupation.The story opens in Rome in 1537 as the Catholic city is being overrun by Protestant hordes from outside the country. Fiametta and Bucino escape to Venice where Fiametta grew up. They have only her collection of jewels (which they managed to swallow !!!!) to support them. In Rome, she had been a well-known, well-regarded and very wealthy courtesan, entertaining royalty, businessmen and not a few Cardinals of the church. In Venice, she must begin again. Bucino goes about finding them living quarters, working space, and all the accoutrements needed to maintain the lifestyle she must project to be successful in her calling. She was well trained by her mother for this life, and knows her worth. Up to about the middle of the book, the pace moves along, we are able to empathize with the characters, and look forward to a reasonable conclusion. At some point though, the story begins to unravel. It becomes less linear, and the reader is left to stumble along trying to keep track of several different story lines and characters. For instance, I never could get a clear handle on the character of Elena "La Draga" Crusichi. Was she simply a servant, a healer, a sorceress, WHAT? Her side story seems to come out of nowhere, and I'm not quite sure how it fits.In spite of the crazy plot pattern, it's still a good read. It gives a good picture of Venice and a well-researched story of the art of the courtesan, but it presented a fuzzy finale that left me frustrated. In short, I found the ending particularly disappointing and that colored my overall perception of the work.
    • 3/5
      A well-told story of life in Renaissance Venice. The characters are well-crafted and interesting. When all was said and done, it seemed to be more of a historical and familial snapshot than a novel with a main storyline to follow.
    • 4/5
      I loved the idea of this book: the setting in Venice, the courtesan's life, the dwarf; however, it just never became as real to me as I had hoped. At times it seemed to drag and seemed as if it could have used some editing. However, if you love historical fiction, give it a try.
    • 5/5
      One of my all time favorite historical fiction novels. Stephen Hoye is stellar in this narration.
    • 3/5
      This is a fun read. Narrated by Buccino, who is a dwarf and the pimp to the most fabulous courtesan in Rome - or she is until the sack of Rome in the 1520s, at which point they barely escape the city with their lives and their jewels. At which point they set out to Venice and aim to conquer the city anew. You can;t help feeling for them in their struggles, but when things start to unravel, they do so with alarming rapidity. They discover that there is a limit to influence and that being sorry can't actually undo the damage, no matter how hard they try. A good story, well told and it's a most engaging set of characters.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. Fiammetta is the quintessential courtesan with the heart of gold, as well as the youth, beauty, & intelligence to make her something special in a city as cultured & corrupted as Rome in 1527. Bucino is her man of the house, a dwarf who is literate as well as sharp as a tack. When Rome falls to the followers of Luther in that year, they escape & make their way to Venice, the city of Fiammetta's birth & upbringing. Along the way, they meet an old friend, Pietro Arentino, & make some new, influential ones.It's a story of love, death, hope & horrors, friendships, betrayals, & knowing who to turn to in a time & place where you can drown in the canals as easy as you can glide upon them....
    • 4/5
      The book was good verging on great. The ending was anti-climactic. I do hope Durant added an Epilogue.
    • 2/5
      This books was painfully slow and hard to get into, but the historical detail and Bucino's inner monologues were stunning and worth plowing through the rest for
    • 3/5
      I didn't like this as much as the other Sarah Dunant book I read - but it was enjoyable enough.
    • 4/5
      A courtesan and her business-partner dwarf escape the sacking of Rome to set up in Venice.Sarah Dunant has done her historical research, and displays it with a light touch, immersing the reader in the sights, sounds and smells of 16c Italy.What I particularly like about her story-telling, is that she has the confidence (and the confidence in her readers) not to give endless back-stories. Characters appear and disappear without full explanations - as people do in life.A fascinating history lesson, and interesting characters that I cared about.
    • 5/5
      Sarah Dunant is brilliant! I read a lot of historical fiction, but only if it's really well-written (so many books, so little time for dull writing). I learned a lot of history in this book and I completely enjoyed the experience! I also loved "The Birth of Venus".
    • 3/5
      Historical fiction is one of those genres I've always relinquished to my sister, but having read two of Dunant's novels over the summer, I've come away with a certain appreciation for the art form.
    • 2/5
      OK but too long and eventually to boring to continue with. Didn't finish.
    • 3/5
      Having recently been to Venice, I very much enjoyed this novel that took place there. It also was very interesting to learn about the life in the 15th century Rome and Venice. The eroticism in the book was a bit too heavy for my liking but thankfully did not overpower this novel. A good read.
    • 5/5
      This was my favourite of hers until I read Sacred Hearts. I love her characters. Original and compelling.
    • 4/5
      Courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf, Bucino rebuild their lives and their fortunes in Venice after escaping the fall of Rome to the invasion of the Protestants/Lutherans. Political intrigue, the setting up of a business for a successful courtesan, religious tolerance, prejudice, sex; this book has it all and is told from the perspective of Bucino.I found it utterly fascinating. The choice of Bucino as narrator gives a unique perspective into the events and the honesty with which the two main characters treat each other is refreshing and entertaining. While my historical fiction tastes tend to remain narrowly within the confines of the Tudors, and Elizabeth I, I’ve had a great deal of fun reading Dunant’s books and will, no doubt, be picking up her latest called Sacred Hearts at some point.
    • 4/5
      While this is not a new book, I enjoyed it and I think it deserves a review. I had not heard of Sarah Dunant and I was at a little used book store in North Myrtle Beach and I spied this. So I decided to buy it. This book was published in 2006. It is another historical fiction novel. The story starts in Catholic Rome in the year 1527. It is a time of religious unrest and the Protestants are gaining power We follow Fiammette and her unlikely companion a male dwarf as she escapes to Venice.We learn through Bucino the dwarf, who is narrating the tale, how through trickery and cunning the two make a living and scrape by. Bucino is the sharp-witted business man and Fiammette the beauty of the operation. Fiammette is a high-class entertainer of wealthy patrons. The characters seem to have a realistic depth and the descriptions are detailed enough to give you a good image of the places and events. You feel like you are there with the characters. Ahh, but in the end it is Fiammette and Bucino who become the victims of trickery and deception as they find that things are not as they appear, as they well know.I loved her style of writing. I was swept into the book from the beginning. I enjoyed the healer La Draga’s mystery and cures. I was also intrigued about the relics and wickedness of the Catholic church. I think that the ending was the best part of this book. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Our story begins with the 1527 sack of Rome, and famous courtesan Fiammetta Bianchini is readying her household for the soldiers' arrival. She and her dwarf companion Bucino, who narrates this tale, flee to Venice to start their lives over again. The description pulls no punches, as it were, laying it all bare without nary a euphemism in sight. But it's not just crudeness and filth that is described this way, but great beauty and purity is as well. All in all, a sumptuous presentation of Renaissance Italy as told through the eyes of a cranky dwarf. I wish there had been more plot - I would have liked to know more about what happened to the Jew and the Turk, for example, and that more ends had been tied up by the end - but I suppose that isn't always possible with first-person narration, and the looseness of the story did make it feel more realistic. I especially appreciated the historical notes at the end, explaining which characters were based on real people and where things deviated from fact. It appears there's nearly as much history as fiction in this historical novel. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more by Dunant.
    • 5/5
      I'm reading a lot of books on the same theme - The Crimson Petal and the White, Whorticulture - and I have loved them all. This one is almost as good as Dunant's The Birth of Venus. Her writing is really classy and I think the characters are original. I'm not sure about the ending but overall it's a great read.
    • 3/5
      It took me a long time to read this book. I started before my trip to Venice and put it down for many months before finishing it this Fall.
    • 3/5
      I loved "Birth of Venus" by Dunant and this one came recommended highly by my Mom. However, I just did not find "In the Company of the Courtesan" very engaging, or good. I'm a sucker for anything Rome or Venice, so I will say, as always, Dunant puts you there, front and center, this time in the 1520-30s. I also found the history of courtesans and their sponsors/lifestyle very interesting. But these characters just never worked for me and I never cared much what happened to them, so it was actually quite boring in many spots - which is unreal since you would think a prostitute and her dwarf pimp would be very engaging. The story is also just kind of weird and plodding in spots; and the end, rather goofy and tacked on. I wanted to like this novel a lot, but it ended up just being decidedly mediocre.
    • 5/5
      Even though I liked all three Renaissance Italy books written by this author this was by far my favorite - I absolutely loved this narrator's "voice".
    • 5/5
      Love this book and this author!
    • 3/5
      it took me a moment to get into the history, but then I was drawn into the characters with their bad and good moods and their lives. I had the audio version and was happy with the reader. Gave you an intersting view behind the scences of the houses in Venice.
    • 3/5
      I could find little to enjoy about this book. It is the tale of a famous Roman courtesan and her pimp (who also happens to be a dwarf) when they are forced to move to Venice and try to "start up business" there.I simply could not like the narrator, Bucino. Was he in love with Fiametta or not? With his attitude toward her, and toward life in general, he came across to me as a bitter know it all. The story of an important side character, a crippled young blind woman called La Draga, was far more interesting. The girl, whose name is really Elena, is a renowned healer, and many view her to have prophetic or witch-like powers. She is clever, resourceful, and wise. Whenever she was mentioned, I would hope that this time she would stay longer. But sadly, she was not the focus of the story.The climax of the book involves her, but even so, I disliked it strongly. It seemed not to be a climax at all, simply an event. A large event, yes, but did it wrap up anything in the story at all? No. It barely even had to do with the story, in fact.This was my second of Sarah Dunant's books, and I can't seem to like her writing style, her characters, or her work in general.
    • 4/5
      An interesting and often amusing story of a courtesan (high paid prostitute) and her entourage (including a midget) and her ambition to become the best and most expensive whore in venice.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable and unpredictable.
    • 4/5
      Summary: In the Company of the Courtesan is the second of Sarah Dunant's triad of works about the fate of women in Renaissance Italy. Options available to young women were limited, they could either become wives (The Birth of Venus), nuns (Sacred Hearts), or whores. This book explores the life of this last group of women by following the fate of Fiametta Bianchini, once the most famous courtesan in Rome, as seen through the eyes of Bucino Teodoldo, a dwarf who is her companion and business manager. The pair of them must flee Rome following the sack of the city in 1527, and they return to Fiametta's childhood home of Venice bruised, scarred, shorn, and with only a tiny handful of jewels they were able to smuggle out of Rome. Their only hope for survival is to get Fiametta established as a high-class courtesan once again, a task that will take all of their skills, charms, and wiles. For beauty is fleeting, tastes are fickle, reputations are tenuous, and the life of a prostitute is never easy in a city where even the most private sins can become public business.Review: This is an odd book in that, while I quite enjoyed it and found it very absorbing, I can't exactly say why. It wasn't the characters; Bucino is interesting, and a good choice for a narrator, but I found Fiametta rather tiresome, especially in the last third or so of the book. It wasn't a burning desire to find out what would happen; the story certainly wasn't boring, but it was not particularly plot-driven either, and there really isn't one through-line of story that carries from beginning to end. The setting was certainly well-done - Dunant excels, as always, at bringing historical Italy to life from a unique perspective - but a masterful setting isn't enough to keep me coming back for more. I think what I enjoyed most was the interesting way Dunant wove her themes throughout the story, packing in a heavy dose of musings on the nature of beauty and lust and sex and love and religion and sin without ever letting her writing get bogged down by philosophical musings. I've always enjoyed questions of that nature, and the courtesans of Renaissance Italy embody so many of these issues that it was fascinating to watch the way they might play out. Choosing Bucino as a narrator was an inspired move; it allowed Dunant to tell a story about the life of the courtesan while still keeping the focus off of the salacious details in the bedroom, and his own deformity made the contrasts to his mistress all the more stark. 4 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: I enjoyed this one more than The Birth of Venus but not quite as much as Sacred Hearts; regardless, all three are vividly-drawn works of historical fiction told from a unique perspective, and should appeal to most readers of the genre.