Author: Madeleine Brent
Published: 1971
Genres: YA-Female Fiction, Historical Fiction (early 1900s)
Rating: 3.5
Summary
Set in England and Italy in 1910, this is the story of a young English girl who by accident starts to unravel the unknown elements of her grandmother's past and is brought by the mystery to the faraway city of Venice. There among the gondolas and canals, she slowly comes to comprehend the meaning of two strange and puzzling dreams--dreams that seem to hold an eerie and menancing prophecy of the future.
Review
This book is overly sentimental, dramatic, and unrealistic. And yet I thoroughly enjoyed it! The author's use of adventure interwoven with romantic tension moves the story line along quickly. And even though the ending is predictable, it was fun to wait for the pieces to fall into place near the end. A good YA escape novel.
The setting of England and then another country (in this case Italy) was reminiscent of the author's novel "Moonraker's Bride." In fact, the entire storyline is generally similar to that work.
Notes
This book is out of print, but you can find used copies online for a reasonable price. The used copy I bought was clearly printed in the 70s: the cover art work looks like a romance novel from 1974 even though the book in set in 1910!
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