I just finished THE FOUR SEASONS of Laurel Corona and was captivated by this coming-of-age story of two sisters. Normally, a coming-of-age story is always the kind of book I’d pick and I’d be pretty sure I’d like it, but I was wondering about this one because it’s set in 18th century Venice. However, this rich historical fiction did not disappoint. Filled with everything that the fabulous city of Venice is today, I think it was even more magnificent back then, as the story of two very different sisters unfolds.

In Venice, in 1695, two little sisters are abandoned on the steps of the hospital for foundlings known as the Pietà. Here they are welcomed and marked on the heels of their tiny feet with the “P” which stands for “Pieta” and the reader comes to know them as Maddalena and Chiaretta. The two sisters grow up in this orphanage that is run by the church to teach the girls to be singers or musicians. The nobility of Venice are served with extravagant concerts of religious music by these orphans who are trained to perform for the privileged citizens of Venice.

Thus, Chiaretta and Maddalena grow up but are as different as two sisters can be.

As the girls are taught in the Pietà, Chiaretta shows the possibility of being an excellent soprano and, in fact, matures into an incredible singer and illustrious soloist. However, headstrong and impetuous Chiaretta longs to marry a nobleman and escape the confines of the Pietà. Meanwhile, Maddalena, the eldest, is calm and loyal as she grows up and works with various instruments before coming to love the violin more. She takes up the instrument with dedication and makes it her life’s work, but along the way, she begins a dangerous relationship with her violin teacher.

Chiaretta achieves her goal and marries into one of Venice’s most famous titled families. Her husband is none other than Claudio Morosini, the handsome and dashing Venetian whose family is one of the most influential in the empire. La Piedad plays her role in arranging Chiaretta and Claudio’s marriage, but she soon learns that everything comes at a cost. As a wife, she must give up certain ideals as she endures a husband who keeps himself in the company of courtesans and eventually leads Chiaretta to consider having a lover for herself. Chiaretta, now a powerful woman in Venice, learns to look the other way in the face of the infidelities of her husband, Claudio, and lives it all, but always with the worry of how all this will affect her close relationship with Maddalena. Because even though these are very different lives, they are still very faithful and devoted sisters.

Meanwhile, Maddalena’s studies include more than the violin, as she relates to the maestro Vivaldi. Antonio Vivaldi is a somewhat notorious priest and he is also suspected of associating with many women. With her wild red hair, Vivaldi is known as “the Red Priest” and when he enters Maddalena’s life, everything changes for her. From then on, her life is one of constant bewilderment and danger, ups and downs, some happiness but a lot of sadness. Vivaldi, who is paid to develop music for the choir and orchestra in Pieta, discovers a muse in Maddalena. Her ability to play the violin, along with her good hearing and imagination, draw him to her and, although he is often sick and ragged in appearance, she is drawn to him. When Vivaldi leaves for work elsewhere traveling to different cities, Maddalena is left behind and works her way into the musical position in Pieta, with high hopes that the “Red Priest” will one day return and come to his senses and realize how important Maddalena is to him and profess his love for her. While Chiaretta enjoys her boisterous public life, Maddalena remains reserved and eventually begins mentoring the younger girls to fulfill her maternal instincts.

The disparate life of these sisters is full of sharp contrasts. As Chiaretta shares news and insights about the luxurious life she lives with art, jewelry and richly tailored clothing, Maddalena compliments her as she showcases the quiet, unadorned life of the Pietà. While the story shows that Vivaldi did buy a violin bow for a young student at the Pietà, the rest of this lavish tale of two lives and loves of two very different but always loving and loyal sisters is nothing more than fiction. But it is the comparison of these two amazing women and their stark contrasts that makes this story in black and white, hot and cold, extremely rewarding and fascinating.

What happens to these two devoted sisters and their very different lives will keep the light burning as you can’t stop turning the page until you find out what happens to both of them. Fans of historical fiction, sibling loyalty, and coming-of-age romances will thoroughly enjoy this book.