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Book Review
Lucia: a Venetian life in the time of Napoleon
By Andrea di Robilant (2008)
An excellent book for anyone interested in history. A fascinating account of the Napoleonic tides that washed across Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Seen through the eyes of the author's great-great-great-great grandmother, a Venetian noblewoman, and gleaned from the copious letters she left behind - this could have been a boring book but the author has brought her to life, an amazingly clever capable woman, well born but without a great deal of money, she is married off to the son of a wealthy and influential family. As Napoleon's armies sweep across Europe and Venice falls under first the Austrian and then the French and later once again Austrian domination, Lucia is her husband's pawn to curry favour at court and thus to save his family estates. Suffering several miscarriages and the death of a surviving son, the separation from a beloved sister and the death of her lover, she eventually return to Venice, and after the death of her husband, becomes landlady to Lord Byron, a disastrous experience for both parties. This book is beautifully bound and easy to read. Very user friendly to read in bed!
Shelved at ROB
Friends of the Library
Originally set up to provide a ‘Books on Wheels’ service to housebound readers, Mercury Bay's Friends of the Library is part of the larger Thames group. We meet every two months, on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, from 5-6pm at the Mercury Bay Library.
About our activities
We operate the Books on Wheels service, by delivering books to members of our community who - through illness or infirmity - cannot get to the library.
We are interested in the issues facing our library, and see the importance of having a formal, representative voice to speak on behalf of all library users.
We help the library by fundraising for special library projects, in order to provide the widest possible services to our community. Our next fundraiser will be the Scallop Festival book sale.
Our sister group in Thames hosts interesting speakers on a variety of subjects, including authors, book dealers, etc.
About membership
Membership is important because it shows support for the library, and it ensures that library users have a formal voice. By becoming a Friend, you help empower the group by adding strength of numbers.
The annual subscription is $10.00 per person or a gold coin for casual attendances. You are also invited to attend the meetings held in Thames.
Membership does not mean that you need to offer your services in the library, or that you are expected to attend every meeting.
For further information contact: Mercury Bay Library Ph 07 866 4776
email mblibrary@tcdc.govt.nz
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