kcmichelle's review against another edition
1.0
I did not finish this book. I was very interested in Lucie Austin, Janet's mother, and would have enjoyed reading more about her. The women in this family were definitely interesting characters who lived rich and exciting lives. In the hands of a different writer, this should have been enough to keep me engaged.
My problem with this book is that 1) Janet Ross, while interesting, was not *that* interesting to write a whole book about and 2) the author filled much of the book with the history of the entire region. Had the history of Tuscany been the focus of the book and Janet been one of the many people who lived there filled a few anecdotes, it might have been better. Of course, then you would have had to pull out the fun stories about Janet and Lucie's adventures in Egypt which seemed noteworthy.
As far as the author's style, it seemed he wanted to accurate in some sort of academic way but continually named dropped non-essential people into the mix like some gossip columnist.
Ultimately, I lost interest and decided I had had my fill of the subject.
My problem with this book is that 1) Janet Ross, while interesting, was not *that* interesting to write a whole book about and 2) the author filled much of the book with the history of the entire region. Had the history of Tuscany been the focus of the book and Janet been one of the many people who lived there filled a few anecdotes, it might have been better. Of course, then you would have had to pull out the fun stories about Janet and Lucie's adventures in Egypt which seemed noteworthy.
As far as the author's style, it seemed he wanted to accurate in some sort of academic way but continually named dropped non-essential people into the mix like some gossip columnist.
Ultimately, I lost interest and decided I had had my fill of the subject.
oddandbookish's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for free through Goodreads FIrst Reads.
This book was very wordy, but not unpleasant. I've never even heard of Janet Ross before I read this book, but now I know a whole lot about her. I skim read parts of the book that I found to be a tad bit boring. For the most part it was a pretty interesting book.
This book was very wordy, but not unpleasant. I've never even heard of Janet Ross before I read this book, but now I know a whole lot about her. I skim read parts of the book that I found to be a tad bit boring. For the most part it was a pretty interesting book.
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