*A modern-day actress finds herself transported back in history and into the arms of a passionate young bard in Erica Jongโs sensuous spin on Shakespeareโs The Merchant of Venice *
A glamorous Hollywood film star, Jessica Pruitt fears the best days of her career are behind her. Arriving in Italy soon after losing custody of her young daughter, she hopes to forget her woes by serving as a judge at the Venice Film Festival and immersing herself in preparations for her starring role in a new cinematic take on The Merchant of Venice. For the aging but still beautiful actress, this ancient, crumbling city of canals is the perfect escape, enchanting her with its history, its magic, and its mystery.
Then one day, while strolling through the old Jewish quarter, she finds herself in a very different Veniceโone that hasnโt existed for five hundred yearsโas the heroine of a new theatrical endeavor by an enigmatic young playwright named Will Shakespeare. Suddenly, impossibly, Jessica has found a new beginning, a new audienceโand, in the arms of a genius fledgling bard, a love affair more stimulating, satisfying, and liberating than any she will ever know, even five centuries on.
Originally published as Serenissima , Erica Jongโs Shylockโs Daughter is a magical tale set in a magical cityโa wonderfully imaginative and delightfully uninhibited love story that transcends time.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erica Jong including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the authorโs personal collection.
Review
โAn amazing tour de force.โ โ Cosmopolitan
โErica Jong can write a historical novel that both honors its tradition with affectionate parody and creates its own full fictional reality.โ โ The New York Times Book Review
โA sexy adventure story which is a real page turner. [It] will surprise and delight her fans and win her many new readers.โ โKen Follett, author of The Pillars of the Earth
About the Author
Erica Jong (b. 1942) was raised in New York City, where she first attracted attention as a poet, winning various awards for two volumes of verse published in the early 1970s. But she is best known forher first novel, Fear of Flying , which struck a chord with a country still reeling from the sexual revolution. Though it initially drew controversy for its frank depiction of female sexuality, it has sold more than eighteen million copies worldwide.
Jong followed Isadora Wing through three more novels: How to Save Your Own Life ,Parachutes and Kisses , and Any Woman's Blues. In addition to continuing to produce poetry, Jong has written historical fiction, most recently Sappho's Leap , and two memoirs , Fear of Fifty and Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life.