A sweeping novel of intrigue and identity, of love and legacy, as a young woman discovers that her own fate is irrevocably tiedâfor better or worseâto literatureâs greatest star-crossed lovers.
Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julieâs twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a keyâone carried by her mother on the day she herself diedâto a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy.
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This key sends Julie on a journey that will change her life foreverâa journey into the troubled past of her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei. In 1340, still reeling from the slaughter of her parents, Giulietta was smuggled into Siena, where she met a young man named Romeo. Their ill-fated love turned medieval Siena upside-down and went on to inspire generations of poets and artists, the story reaching its pinnacle in Shakespeareâs famous tragedy.Â
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But six centuries have a way of catching up to the present, and Julie gradually begins to discover that here, in this ancient city, the past and present are hard to tell apart. The deeper she delves into the history of Romeo and Giulietta, and the closer she gets to the treasure they allegedly left behind, the greater the danger surrounding herâsuperstitions, ancient hostilities, and personal vendettas. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in the unforgettable blood feud, she begins to fear that the notorious curseââA plague on both your houses!ââis still at work, and that she is destined to be its next target. Only someone like Romeo, it seems, could save her from this dreaded fate, but his story ended long ago. Or did it?
Praise for Juliet
âOne of those rare novels that have it all . . . I was swept awayââSara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
âJuliet leads us on a thrilling treasure hunt through present-day Italy that makes the classic tragedy itself spellbinding all over again.ââElle
âBoldly imagined, brilliantly plotted, beautifully described, Juliet will carry you spellbound until the gripping end.ââSusan Vreeland, author of Clara and Mr. Tiffany
âThe Shakespearean scholarship on display is both impressive and well-handled.ââThe Washington Post
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