Secretum
By Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Rita Monaldi
Rita Monaldi was born in 1966 and is an expert in the history of religions. Her husband Francesco Sorti was born in 1964 and has a background in musicology. Both Rita and Francesco have worked as journalists, but in recent years they have collaborated on several historical novels including Imprimatur and its sequels Secretum and Veritas. They live with their two young children in Vienna and Rome.
Read more from Rita Monaldi
Secretum Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Veritas: The Thrilling Sequel to Secretum Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Secretum
Related ebooks
Doubting Thomas: A Novel about Caravaggio Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Roman Question Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Three Cities Trilogy: Rome, Volume 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDead Man's Rock Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenaissance Fancies and Studies Being a Sequel to Euphorion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMemoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anything But Yes: A Novel of Anna Del Monte, Jewish Citizen of Rome, 1749 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDealings with the Dead (Vol. 1&2): Funeral Rites and Ceremonies in the 19th-Century America (Complete Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cenci: “Poets and philosophers are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Romance of Wills and Testaments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Gift from Tartary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTorquemada and the Spanish Inquisition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIronies of Faith: The Laughter at the Heart of Christian Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cenci Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife of St. Francis of Assisi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Candid History of the Jesuits Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIngersoll in Canada: A Reply to Wendling, Archbishop Lynch, Bystander; and Others Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Dealings with the Dead: Funeral Rites and Ceremonies in the 19th-Century America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Aztec Treasure-House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuricular Confession and Popish Nunneries: Volumes I. and II., Complete Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Addresses One to the Gentlemen of Whitby and the other, to the Protestant Clergy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsItalian Holidays: Travel Notes: Art, History, People, Challenges Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Secret Report of Friar Otto Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Archko Volume or the Archeological Writings of the Sanhedrim and Talmuds of the Jews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enemies of Nicolo Basti Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe City of God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coming of the Friars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrancis, a New World Pope Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The New Jerusalem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Suspense For You
A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl Who Was Taken: A Gripping Psychological Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretty Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfect Marriage: A Completely Gripping Psychological Suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Outsider: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If We Were Villains: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Misery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Terminal List: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5None of This Is True: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Maidens: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Then She Was Gone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brother Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hunting Party: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whisper Man: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Housemaid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Mercedes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wife Upstairs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The It Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Missing Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Billy Summers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Secretum
66 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When we meet again with out short protagonist and Abbe Atto we can aexpect a good load of mysery, mischief and history secrets and thebook is not a diappointment. A bit slow-pacing and sometimes overwhelming with historical and cultural facts (?) but still entertaining to read about the secret love of Louis XIV and the dark side of the spanish inheritance questions and a conclave electing a pope.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5[Secretum] is Monaldi and Sorti’s second novel about the exploits of the French spy, Abbot Atto Melani, their first book being [Imprimatur].In Secretum we find Melani in Rome in the year 1700 attending the wedding of Clemente, the nephew of Cardinal Fabrizio Spada, to Maria Pulcheria Rocci, niece of a most eminent member of the Holy College of Cardinals. Given the eminent positions of the two uncles the celebrations are being attended by many other cardinals.As it happens, the then holder of the Holy See, Pope Innocent XII, is in poor health and the assembled Cardinals expect to remain in Rome to partake in the Conclave that will be called to choose a successor to the ailing pontiff when he dies. For many the wedding celebrations are merely an opportunity to form allegiances, gauge the direction in which factions are leaning, and to press for advantages in the imminent Conclave on behalf of their favoured candidate or indeed themselves.In addition, the King of Spain, Charles II, is expected to die and the fate of the Spanish Empire is a topic of great interest as the monarch has no obvious heir and it is not known whom he will name as his heir. This is made all the more interesting as King Louis XIV of France, “The Sun King”,has arranged a pact with England and Holland to carve up the Spanish Empire between them once Charles II has died, while the Austrian Empire is anxious that France not gain any more strength or power and hopes that a member of their royal family will be nominated as heir to the Spanish crown. What’s more, the Spanish monarch has asked for the ailing Pope Innocent XII to assist him on the subject of choosing an heir.All of these topics become topics of conversation and political manoeuvring amongst the cardinals attending the Villa Spada for the wedding celebrations. What’s more, all the crises alluded to above are historically accurate. This was a time of much international political intrigue and the cardinals were split into factions based on their national allegiances. As you might have guessed from the above paragraphs this book contains many complex issues and weaves several threads of intrigue together to make a compelling narrative in a very rewarding read.In addition to the history lesson and the tales of intrigue and downright corruption, the reader will also find informed discussion on the flora of the Roman villas of the time, descriptions of music and entertainments commonly enjoyed by the elite in Rome at the start of the eighteenth century, and details of the organisation of the catchpolls (police) of the time. One will also find the book brings the reader into another world, a world in which it is a pleasure to relax and enjoy the sumptuousness of the surroundings and the complexity of the intrigues going on around the wedding celebrations.In addition to the text of the novel, the authors have included 30 pages of detail, including citations of source material, and argument indicating the authenticity of the details in the story. The reader is presented with all the detail necessary to validate the facts in the story and even told where key historical documents can be viewed if one indeed wishes to see them. This is almost a challenge to the reader to find fault with the historical accuracy of the facts in the story.I am not an historian and my historical knowledge is not sufficient to either repudiate or confirm the accuracy of the details in the novel, but I suspect there are many who will delve into the detail with the hope of finding fault. I suspect they will not succeed.I have marked and underlined many parts of this book which present opinions and ideas pertinent to the present day and which are probably of global application in every era. One of my favourites is,“…if order is to be maintained in states and in kingdoms, the people must never know the truth about two things: what there really is in sausages and what takes place in the courts of law.”I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it to anyone who is looking for an informative yet intriguing story that is woven around historical fact and that gives one an insight into the lives of the rich and the poor in 1700 Rome. This is a sumptuous book and one needs to approach it as such. This is not for you if you want a quick read with lots of action and no stopping to smell the roses. Reading this book I took plenty of time to smell the roses.