OL11787143W Page_number_confidence 90.94 Pages 278 Partner Innodata Pdf_module_version 0.0.20 Ppi 300 Rcs_key 24143 Republisher_date 20201027042318 Republisher_operator Republisher_time 430 Scandate 20201023135943 Scanner Scanningcenter cebu Scribe3_search_catalog isbn Scribe3_search_id 9780142414927 Tts_version 4.The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world, and there has been continuous speculation about who she was and why she is smiling. Perfect starting point for a historical fiction novel, and The Smile puts forth a very convincing tale to answer those burning questions. Readers are introduced to a young Elisabetta, the daughter of a silk merchant. Even though she does not feel she is a beauty, Elisabetta catches the eye of the famous painter, Leonardo and a young Medici prince. It is the young Guiliano de’Medici who calls Elisabetta Monna Lisa and remembers her smile. The Smile is the next title in Donna Jo Napoli’s growing list of young adult novels. The author provides rich details of life and events during the Renaissance, as well as some of the very real people from that era.Īlthough he is the heir to the most powerful family in Florence and the two fall in love, Elisabetta’s father finds a more suitable match for his daughter in his new wife’s brother-in-law, another silk merchant.

The romantic in me would have preferred a different ending, but I give the author credit for faithfully providing an ending that was more realistic and fit with the period. Through this deeply personal story, Napoli paints a magnificent portrait of the Italian Renaissance, both tragic and triumphant. All in all, a fairly reasonable depiction of life in those times.

The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli