
Maddalena and the Dark
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Narrated by:
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Sophie Roberts
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By:
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Julia Fine
About this listen
A gothic, Venetian fairytale about the fierce bond between two teenage girls at an 18th century music school, and the fateful bargains they make with a dark magic in the waters of Venice.
A darkness takes shape beneath the waters of Venice...
and somewhere in the Ospedale della Pietà,
there are two girls breathing beside each other,
legs entwined.
Maddalena and the Dark is an opulent and sensuous Venetian fairytale, full of music, magic, passion, and betrayal. Perfect for fans of The Binding and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Venice, 1717. Before Maddalena arrived at the Ospedale della Pietà, Venice's most illustrious music school, fifteen-year-old orphan Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. Luisa is good at violin, but she is not the best. She has peers, but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena.
Sent to the Pietà until her noble family can find her a husband, Maddalena is cunning, passionate, and unlike anyone Luisa has ever met. Maddalena can promise the world to Luisa, and when she does, their fates intertwine.
But Maddalena has made a dangerous wager and, for both girls, there will be an unimaginable price to pay.
©2023 Julia Fine (P)2023 Headline Publishing Group LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
'Fine beguiles with this decadent tale of desire... With the alluring Venice backdrop, this will frighten and captivate in equal measure' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review
'Maddalena and the Dark is a tense, slow-burning portrait of how desire too easily tangles with envy and the price we pay when we get what we want.' ISLE MCELROY
'An ecstatic, immersive, layered and astonishingly rendered depiction of girlhood, ambition, violence, art, and desire.' LYNN STEGER STRONG