Finding Orpheus - version 1,473

It has been approximately a thousand years (give or take) since I last posted and I feel pain, actual physical withdrawal pain. Not quite as bad as when I quite smoking but pain just the same.

There are a number of reasons why I haven't been able to get on here and post but I'm not going to bore you with them. The fact that my son has given up daytime naps was a big contributor. And the restless sleeping that my daughter has undertaken during the day (she did NOT want to give up her bassinet for the cot. So what did I do? Gave in and put her back in the bassinet. Her head and feet are scraping the edges but she sleeps like a dream).

But like I said I won't go into the lame excuses of why I haven't written. One of the not so lame excuses is that Finding Orpheus has taken off. The few, brief, blissful minutes I get to myself these days have been spent on working on the novel! Hooray!!! I'm so excited, it's coming along really well. I plan to give you a sneak peek, but I thought first I would put up some interesting sites that I have come across in my latest research. Hope you like them!!

Latin Phrases

Renaissance Tragedy and Investigator Heroes - this one was particularly insightful as the newest version of Orpheus is a mystery, a whodunit, a crime that needs solving, a sexy detective novel...yeah, ok maybe not that last one. But it's meant to be.

A History of Murano Glass - in case you were wondering...

Aesop c. 1480 - from the New York Library. This is where the picture at the beginning of this post came from. Glorious.

Shakespeare Insulter - Thou puking clay-brained bugbear!! Because 'idiot' just doesn't cut it anymore.

Medieval Diseases - this one was particular useful as I wanted my villain to be afflicted with some telltale malady. I still haven't decided yet...Any suggestions? It needs to be something notable, something that other characters in the story can recognise but not necessarily anything too obvious. If you know what I mean. I was initially thinking some sort of skin affliction, acne or the such. Or perhaps an eye infection, like conjunctivitis, or even a nervous condition, anxiety or something. Perhaps they can all be related? Hmm, the possibilities.

Medieval Naming Guides - An excellent source on the nature of names throughout Italy during the Renaissance.


Alright, here's a little sneak peek of the new Orpheus. I really hope you like it :)

Cervelli, Orfeo ed Euridici c Source: Wikipedia

"Giovanni, what a pleasant surprise," I said.

Giovanni turned and smiled down at me. He was clearly delighted to see me. As I was him.

I held my hands out to him and he took them in his warm grasp. His skin was as dark as a roasted nut; obviously he had been travelling in the summer months. That explained his long absence.

“Ana, it has been too long.”

“Well we don’t exactly move in the same circles. You a highly respected man of society, and me a humble church worker.”

Giovanni scoffed at the suggestion. “A highly respected man of society? Ana you know that I was not born into this position but that I’ve worked up into it. And I owe most of my favourable reputation to my relationship with Lorenzo de Medici. He is the one who has accepted me into society.”

Giovanni was an esteemed importer of Greek and Middle Eastern texts. His clients included Lorenzo de Medici and he often travelled to bring back new pearls to add to Il Magnifico’s collection.

“Both your position in this city, indeed the whole of Italy and the benevolent manner of your benefactor are laudable.”

“And surely you must also know that you are more than a humble church worker. Who knows who your kin may be? Why, you could be the daughter of an English lord.”

It was a fantasy I had played out in my mind many times, and Giovanni and I had oft spoke of the possibilities surrounding my past. Although not as often as late. Fantasy had quickly given way to reality in my bleak, Spartan surroundings. I smiled as I removed my cloak. I had forgotten about my ruined attire until I saw the shock register on Giovanni’s face.

“Goodness Ana, your dress. Are you hurt?”

I laughed looking down at the blood stained dress.

“Not in the least. I have been delivering a fresh new babe this morning.” I felt a warm glow of pride at the success of the visit. “But please forgive my appearance. I will change if it alarms you too much?”

“It is your own comfort that concerns me. I shall wait outside.”

I changed quickly into my spare dress and tunic. The grey and red gown was long since gone and I now got by in the humble clothing provided by the abbey. I quickly called Giovanni back into the room.

“My apologies for not visiting earlier. I have been travelling these last few months. With the winter fast approaching there has been much to do in preparation for the latest shipment of texts.”

“Of course, of course, sit down please.” I gestured to the one chair in the room then sat myself on the edge of the bed. As I looked at him I could see that my first surmise had been correct. There were tension lines around his dark brown eyes and his full lips were pulled tightly together.

“How have you been?” I asked cautiously.

His reply was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. Sister Agata brought in a tray carrying wine and bread and placed it with a knowing smile on the little table.

“Thank you, sister,” I said. Giovanni nodded his thanks as I poured us both a glass of wine. My busy morning had left me parched.

“Fine, yes I’m fine.” He paused and I waited patiently for him to extrapolate. As if he could no longer remain sitting he jumped up and paced over to the window. Too high for me to see out, his direct gaze took him outside to the abbey’s little garden. Late autumn now; I knew the trees would be shedding their leaves, the last of the summer fruit long gone.

“You are familiar with the Torregrossa family,” he said it as a statement, not a question. I nodded. Although I had only been involved in Florentine society for three years, the name was a prominent one, and I heard it often in my dealings with both the lower class and the merchant class.

“Yes. Armando Torregrossa is a merchant, is he not? Quite a successful one?”

Giovanni nodded in agreement then waited for me to expatiate.

“His son Matteo I have heard is an intelligent boy, although lazy.” I spoke freely in front of Giovanni, aware that he expected the truth from me. “There are concerns that he won’t be able to maintain the family business when he inherits it. And the daughter, Vittoria. I hear she is very beautiful, wilful. She has many admirers.” I suddenly remembered something. “But it is your own brother she is engaged to, no?”

Giovanni looked surprised.

“How...? Ah, Of course it is your that your work brings to you all manner of information.”

I raised my hands in mock supplication, as if the gossip that accompanied my work was beyond my control.

“I really should have known,” he continued, “it is the reason that I have come here. I need your help.”

I was surprised. In the three years that I had known Giovanni he had never once asked me for anything. I owed him so much, everything he had done for me since that day when he first found me in the woods, that he still did for me by paying my board at the abbey.

“Whatever I can do.”

“You said that Vittoria Torregrossa is engaged to my brother Silvio, but this is not entirely correct. She was engaged to him.”

“Oh, I see. Has the wedding been called off then?”

“In a manner of speaking. Vittoria Torregrossa is dead and Silvio is being blamed for her murder.”

“Murder?” I gasped. “What...? How...? When...?”

“Last night,” Giovanni replied taking a gulp from his wine. “I see you have been out this morning, but even Florentine gossip does not move that quickly.”

And so begins the exciting (and so humble is the author!)tale of mystery and intrigue as our killer strikes again and Ana and Giovanni are left chasing a murdering madman around Renaissance Florence. It's all engines go, I tell you!

Hope you've enjoyed the snippet and remember, as with everything I post on here the story is copyright to me 2010.

Ciao for now!!

Kirsty x