Book Review: Fierce Dreamer by Linda Lafferty

Fierce Dreamer by Linda Lafferty
Length: 315 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

"'Artemisia. Boys will be jealous of you for the rest of your life. You have a gift they would kill for. Yes, you have the promise of physical beauty, but there are plenty of pretty girls in Rome. You possess something much more rare. You have God-given talent. You will be a great painter. And many will hate you for your art.'"

Trigger Warnings in this book for Rape, Sexual Assault, and Violence

My first book of 2021, and oh, how wonderful it was! I picked this up solely because I am participating in this year's Buzzword Readathon, hosted by Kayla at BooksandLala. This month's buzzword was dream, or dreamer or dreaming, anything along those lines. Honestly, I have to thank the Readathon for pushing it to the top of my TBR!

I have always had a fascination with Artemisia Gentileschi, a woman who became an accomplished painter, and so much more, in a time when women were nothing more than wives, mothers, servants, or even prostitutes. Born to the artist Orazio Gentileschi, a follower of Caravaggio's, and Prudenzia di Ottaviano Montoni, we follow Artemisia through her hard but sheltered childhood, constantly at her father's feet, until her early adulthood and through the trial that would shadow the rest of her life.

Artemisia is exceptionally gifted, headstrong and passionate, of her father's "Tuscan blood", as is remarked by others. She is Orazio's pride and joy, and as a child and remarkable protégé, she is allowed to come and go as she pleases, visiting various bottegas to learn from the masters themselves. She is even taken to the execution of Beatrice Cenci, a woman who killed her father who was raping her, something that sticks with her and even goes on to mimic her own life, only with a different outcome. But, as she matures, her father's love turns to control, especially as she comes into undeniable beauty. She is soon kept inside like a caged bird, only allowed to paint still lifes at her father's instruction. Artemisia longs to be free, to paint the dark and dramatic works she dreams of, like her idol Caravaggio.

I absolutely adored Artemisia, her strength, her conviction, her refusal to let those more powerful than her win. When the horrible day of her rape by her tutor, Agostino Tassi, comes, as anyone who knows her story will anticipate, her emotions were my own. Her outrage, her fear and broken heart. She understands immediately that she has lost, perhaps, her only ticket to freedom via her virginity and a chance for marriage. This quote, from one of her first conversations with Tassi, sums up her personality perfectly:

"The maestro studied the nude and then shifted his gaze to her. 'I think it will be a challenge and a pleasure to teach you, Sinorina,' he said. 'You have tremendous potential.'
She looked at him coldly. "I have tremendous skill, Maestro Tassi.'"

Every man in this story I hated at least once, from Agostino to the loathsome Cosimo Quorli to Artemisia's eldest brother, and even, and maybe in particular, her mercurial father who only suggests she bring her rapist to trial when he fears for his own reputation. The strongest characters in this book were of course the women, especially how they interacted with one another, including the fleeting and loving moments with Prudenzia before her untimely death, and Tuzia, the neighbor who would later become Orazio's lover, and eventually, be tried at court for involvement in the rape. 

Artemisia, who overcame so much, is brought wonderfully to life in "Fierce Dreamer". I'm excited to pick up another book by Lafferty, and if they are anything like this one, she will surely become a favorite of mine! I just adored this book, and I think you will, too.