The Stolen Lady

About this book

From the acclaimed author of The Night Portraitcomes a stunning historical novel about two women, separated by five hundredyears, who each hide Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa--with unintendedconsequences.France, 1939At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a youngarchivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing.While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Parisand German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Naziswill stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre's art collection. Anne isquickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre's most preciousartworks--including the Mona Lisa--are being transferred to ensure theirsafety. With the Germans hard on their heels, Anne frantically moves the MonaLisa and other treasures again and again in an elaborate game of hide andseek. As the threat to the masterpieces and her life grows closer, Anne alsobegins to learn the truth about her brother and the role he plays in thisdangerous game. Florence, 1479House servant Bellina Sardi's future seems fixed when she accompaniesher newly married mistress, Lisa Gherardini, to her home across the Arno.Lisa's husband, a prosperous silk merchant, is aligned with the powerfulMedici, his home filled with luxuries and treasures. But soon, Bellina findsherself bewitched by a charismatic monk who has urged Florentines to rise upagainst the Medici and to empty their homes of the riches and jewels her newemployer prizes. When Master Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint aportrait of Lisa, Bellina finds herself tasked with hiding an impossiblesecret.When art and war collide, Leonardo da Vinci, his beautifulsubject Lisa, and the portrait find themselves in the crosshairs of history.