Dolores V Filandro

Zaneta in Old Venice Dolores V Filandro

This lush and lavish novel of the Venetian Republic will transport you to 1400s-era Venice, a place of intrigue, deception, mystery, and murder.



It is the second half of the fifteenth century, and Venetian matriarch and aristocrat Zaneta is worried about her children's futures. Zaneta's family is on La Lista, the Golden Book, chronicling the one thousand founding families of Venice. Her family may have that special honor, but they are penniless. Zaneta and her husband, Aldo, are part of the barnabotti, the special class of aristocrats who must live on the government's generosity.



Zaneta has learned how to live frugally, but she dreams of something better for her family. She fantasizes about a mysterious stranger appearing and sharing his wealth with them. Her dreams seem to come true when Zaneta's second cousin, a wealthy widower, becomes ill. Zaneta thinks that the family's luck is finally changing but begins to suspect that others have their own designs on the sick man's riches.



When Zaneta does something horrific to ensure her family's success, she is exiled to the distant town of Assisi. There, Zaneta meets new friends and fears old foes in this tale of regret, desire, and vulnerability.