A brilliant debut about a woman doctor in Reniassance Venice, forced to cross Europe in search of her father.
Regina O'Melveny Books
Regina O'Melveny crafts poetry and prose that delves into the intricacies of human experience with a distinctive voice. Her literary contributions, featured in various magazines and anthologies, showcase a sharp observational skill and a profound connection to the world. As an artist and educator, her creative ethos permeates her writing, offering readers insights that are both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant. Her body of work is marked by a unique style and thematic depth that consistently engage the imagination.
The Book of Madness and Cures
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
Dr. Gabriella Mondini, a strong-willed, young Venetian woman, has followed her father in the path of medicine. She possesses a singleminded passion for the art of physick, even though, in 1590, the male-dominated establishment is reluctant to accept a woman doctor. So when her father disappears on a mysterious journey, Gabriella's own status in the Venetian medical society is threatened. Her father has left clues--beautiful, thoughtful, sometimes torrid, and often enigmatic letters from his travels as he researches his vast encyclopedia, The Book of Diseases.After ten years of missing his kindness, insight, and guidance, Gabriella decides to set off on a quest to find him--a daunting journey that will take her through great university cities, centers of medicine, and remote villages across Europe. Despite setbacks, wary strangers, and the menaces of the road, the young doctor bravely follows the clues to her lost father, all while taking notes on maladies and treating the ill to supplement her own work.Gorgeous and brilliantly written, and filled with details about science, medicine, food, and madness, The Book Of Madness And Cures is an unforgettable debut.
