Christi Phillips, The Rossetti Letter

The Rossetti Letter

Christi Phillips

Pocket, Mar 2007, $24.00

ISBN: 1416527370

Ph.D candidate Claire Donovan's thesis focuses on the role courtesan Alessandra Rossetti played in preventing a Spanish Conspiracy from overthrowing the Venetian Republic government in 1618. A letter written by Rossetti is the primary source for Claire's paper and related efforts to obtain recognition for the seventeenth-century heroine amongst historians.

Cambridge University History Professor Andrew Kent disagrees with Claire's basic premise. He feels the evidence is rather strong that Rossetti abetted the Spanish cause to remove from power the Venetian government. His efforts, if proven correct, destroy her thesis. Andrew and Claire agree to work together to uncover the truth behind the renowned Venetian courtesan.

Mindful in some ways of Lauren Willig's Eloise Kelly tales, THE ROSSETTI LETTER is a delightful combination of historical fiction and contemporary, academic, romantic mystery. Due to rotating perspective, readers ironically know more about Rossetti and the 1618 Spanish Conspiracy than the history professor and the graduate student. Though some minor subplots, like those involving Andrew's Italian girlfriend and Claire's Italian suitor and her chaperoning a teenage "ward provide some insight into their characters, these feel intrusive as the prime theme is for the modern day academic "sleuths" to uncover the almost four centuries old secrets of what occurred. Overall, fans will enjoy this entertaining historiographical tale seen through rose-colored glasses.

Harriet Klausner