The Midwife of Venice

Description

A rollicking, fast-paced historical novel set against the richness and squalor of 16th-century Venice and Malta. At midnight, the dogs, cats, and rats rule Venice. The Ponte di Ghetto Nuovo, the bridge that leads to the ghetto, trembles under the weight of sacks of rotting vegetables, rancid fat, and vermin. Seeping refuse on the streets renders the pavement slick and the walking treacherous. It was on such a night that the men came for Hannah. Hannah Levi is famed throughout Venice for her skills as a midwife but, as a Jew, the law forbids her from attending a Christian woman. However, when the Conte appears at her door in the dead of night, Hannah's compassion is sorely tested. And with the handsome reward he is offering, she could ransom back her husband, currently imprisoned on the island of Malta. But if she fails in her endeavours to save mother and child, will she be able to save herself, let alone her husband?

Roberta Rich divides her time between Vancouver and Colima, Mexico. She is a former family law lawyer. This is her debut novel.

A lavishly detailed historical novel * Elle Magazine * A lively tale involving love, blackmail, family, murder, plague, intercultural compassion, dramatic last-minute rescues and some very creative disguises . . . Rich capably depicts the strength of women and the precariousness of their lives, regardless of status or religion * The Globe and Mail * A compelling and engaging novel, a well-researched high-stakes drama written with elegance and compassion: fascinating! * Sandra Gulland * A meticulously researched page-turner that evokes renaissance Venice with remarkable clarity, radiance, and vigour * William Deverell * Not only did Roberta Rich transport me to sixteenth-century Venice, with its seductive tapestry of smells, sights, textures and beliefs, she involved me in a poignant story of seasoned love. I don't know which I admired more - the wonderfully realized setting or the suspenseful story of Hannah and Isaac * Katherine Ashenburg *