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The Stolen Lady  By  cover art

The Stolen Lady

By: Laura Morelli
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Caroline Hewitt, Paul Woodson
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Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed author of The Night Portrait comes a stunning historical novel about two women, separated by 500 years, who each hide Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa - with unintended consequences.

France, 1939

At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a young archivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing. While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Paris and German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Nazis will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre’s art collection. Anne is quickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre’s most precious artworks - including the Mona Lisa - are being transferred to ensure their safety. With the Germans hard on their heels, Anne frantically moves the Mona Lisa and other treasures again and again in an elaborate game of hide and seek. As the threat to the masterpieces and her life grows closer, Anne also begins to learn the truth about her brother and the role he plays in this dangerous game.

Florence, 1479

House servant Bellina Sardi’s future seems fixed when she accompanies her newly married mistress, Lisa Gherardini, to her home across the Arno. Lisa’s husband, a prosperous silk merchant, is aligned with the powerful Medici, his home filled with luxuries and treasures. But soon, Bellina finds herself bewitched by a charismatic monk who has urged Florentines to rise up against the Medici and to empty their homes of the riches and jewels her new employer prizes. When Master Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa, Bellina finds herself tasked with hiding an impossible secret.

When art and war collide, Leonardo da Vinci, his beautiful subject Lisa, and the portrait find themselves in the crosshairs of history.

©2021 Laura Morelli (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Stolen Lady

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hard to finish

The premise of the book was so interesting that I didn't want to give up on it but it wasn't easy or enjoyable. The narrator for Anne pronounced the names of people and places very awkwardly and the cadence of her speech was disjointed. The Bellina character was very 2 dimensional and hard to feel for. I wish some of the story was told from Lisa's point of view. Overall, the story wasn't well told and the narrators were not very good.

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18 people found this helpful

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Triad

This was an interesting trio of tales about the Mona Lisa, told in alternating chapters by characters- each in its own chronological order.
The readers were good, but especially C Hewitt because she conveyed the setting in France by consistently adept use of varying French accents (and English or Italian as necessary) for the dialogue, as well as accurate French location pronunciation. The narrators of the Italian stories were less effective in conveying time and place.

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17 people found this helpful

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Save your time and money

An interesting premise and story of leonardo, but a stupid and unrealistic story of the woman who worked to save the art in ww2. Save your time and money.

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12 people found this helpful

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A Trip through Time with The Mona Lisa

How did The world's most famous lady come to be, how did she get from Italy to France, and how did she stay safe during some of the most tumultuous time in history? Ah, you must listen to the voices of the artists who weave the story best written by master historical writer, Laura Morrelli. The Stolen Lady is sure to capture your heart as well as your imagination when it transforms you back through time to hear the artist, the lady. and the situation...but just then you are in France and WWII and German soldiers are threatening to take the most valuable artworks in the world and hide them away...all the time, The Mona Lisa keeps you grounded. Listen to this wonderful story of intrigue and fascination to discover the mystery and history behind the lovely lady. her smile, and the staff of the most famous museum in Paris!

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10 people found this helpful

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Art, history and lovely characters

loved it! beautifully written, narrated and such a special story. History and art, worthy to be read.

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5 people found this helpful

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Spellbinding

So interesting. I felt like I was right by their sides every step of the way.

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4 people found this helpful

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Mona Lisa’s journey

I loved the parallel between the real woman who posed for the Mona Lisa and the painting itself in two different time periods. And whether true or not, I love the imagined love that Da Vinci had for the real woman or the woman in the painting, which was it? Interesting to think about! This book is well worth the listen!!

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2 people found this helpful

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Magnificent 👍

If you love art. If you love history. If you love drama. If you love the renaissance. If you love romance. If you love bravery. If you love learning. If you enjoy irony (I am sure I left many subjects out 😢)…..you will totally enjoy this view of artistic and historical events told trough the eyes and voices of three major characters.
And, although it’s is a work of fiction, the facts surrounding The Mona Lisa are pretty accurate.
My compliments to the narrators who carry us through 30 yeas of the Renaissance and 5 years of Cloak and dagger art during the German occupation of Paris.
I look forward to M. Morelli’s next contribution to my collection of historic fiction.

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2 people found this helpful

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Fascinating Piece of History

I have visited many of the places mentioned in this story and it was nice to visualize them again.

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Interesting perspective on WW2

Interesting story of the bravery of the French to save priceless works of art during the war

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