Venice, 9 November 1730. At Palazzo Antelmi, Catterina is organising a dinner to celebrate the return of her friend, painter Rosalba Carriera, just back from Vienna, where she made portraits of members of the imperial court. The musician Antonio Lotti is also invited, as is Joseph Smith, future British Consul in Venice. Catterina’s brother Marcello, her best friend Cecilia, and Cecilia’s brother Leonardo will join them at table.
But the festive atmosphere is overshadowed by a tragic event. Two days earlier, Marcello’s brother-in-law Francesco Michiel was murdered. Charismatic and fascinating, he was in some way connected to all of them.
As Catterina busies herself with preparations for the party, she is stunned by the revelation of a sinister scenario involving the people dearest to her.
In the opulent Venetian palace that evening, Catterina is the only one who knows the secrets of each of her dinner guests and their links with Francesco Michiel. She must tread carefully if she is to understand how to move and find out who killed Francesco and why.
Unfolding on a single day against the backdrop of Venice on the edge of her great decline, the course of history hangs in the balance of love, politics and a bundle of letters exposing dangerous relationships.
On the cover: Rosalba Carriera, Head of a Young Dark-Haired Woman. Venice, ca 1730.
By kind concession of The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Photograph © The State Hermitage Museum
Photo by Vladimir Terebenin
Title: The Laws of Time
Author: Andrea Perego
English translation: Edward Smith
Publisher: Supernova
ISBN-13: 978-88-6869-173-8
The Laws of Time 