THE ROAD TO GESUALDO978-1-941072-70-7Like so many noble women before her, Leonora d’Este was betrothed behind her back and without her consent. She was to marry Prince Carlo di Gesualdo, and that was that. She did her duty to her family, knowing only that her fiancé was a widower with a son from the previous wife. It was only after her vows that she learned her husband murdered his wife and her lover in a jealous rage. Given the woman’s adultery, Leonora understood and forgave Carlo. But soon she noticed odd behavior from her husband. Was he slipping into madness? Could Leonora care for her husband ad protect herself at the same.
This vivid drama of noble life in 16th century Italy plays out through the eyes of Leonora’s faithful lady-in-waiting and friend, Livia, who has her own romantic problems. She is hopelessly in love with a young man whom she can never marry, and he loves her too but is promised to another. Will anyone find happiness on The Road to Gesualdo?Erika Rummel has taught history at the University of Toronto and Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo. She divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles and has lived in villages in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria. She is the author of more than a dozen books on social history, and several historical novels. She is the translator of the correspondence between Alfred Nobel and his Viennese mistress, writing a novel based on these letters. Her award-winning novel, The Inquisitor’s Niece was published in 2018.Pending.