DIVINE MISTRESS

by Frank G. Slaughter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 1949

Period historical romance, in somewhat new vein for the usually predictable Frank Slaughter. The setting shifts from a Priory in Padua, where young Antonio Servetus is studying for holy orders in 1562 -- to Spain of the Inquisition -- and England. Servetus was a teacher of anatomy, and the chance discovery of the Botticelli Birth of Venus fired his imagination so that almost he found himself in love with the image. The appointment of a new Prior, his suspicions of Servetus as author of a revolutionary monograph on the circulation of the blood, the transfer of Antonio to Venice- then to Spain as Queens's physician -- and the confused romance with Lucia Bellarmi, whose family owned the Botticelli, and whose grandmother had been the model for the Venus. The romance comes to a head when they escape together, aided by the queen, from the clutches of the Inquisition. The story is two edged -- the medical aspects bring in other pioneers, Vesalius and Pare, who, with Servetus, contributed to the advancement of knowledge of pulmonary circulation and operational techniques; the romance is enhanced by the trappings of history.

Pub Date: Oct. 13, 1949

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1949

Categories: FICTION