Strange but true...

Sometimes the title of a book is so strange, you just have to read it - a couple of months ago I saw a discussion about this one, and managed to get a copy from my good friend Mrs Mac -

The Castrato and His Wife by Helen Berry

This is the true story of Italian opera singer Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci, who was born into a poor family in the Tuscan village of Monte San Savino, and who then went on to become one of the most famous celebrities of the eighteenth century. From quite early in his career Tenducci was besieged by women who flocked to his concerts, and he had all the main composers of the day vying for his favour. However, it was his marriage to his pupil, Dorothea Maunsell, a teenage girl from a good Irish family, that would be the catalyst which boosted his career into the public stratosphere. When the marriage eventually broke down,  the subsequent court case to have the marriage annulled proved to be sensational and damaging.

It's an unconventional love story, and all the more intriguing because it's true...

Helen Berry, a noted historian has written an accomplished account of Tenducci's life. The book is easier to read than you would imagine, and has a very generous reference section, which I must admit to not really reading much of......but, it's there for those who like that kind of thing...

I love the glimpse of picture from the front cover - it's from The Singer Farinelli and Friends by Jacopo Amigoni c 1750-1752... I think the picture is copyrighted ....so you'll have to look it up for yourself !