Disobedient: The gripping feminist retelling of a seventeenth century heroine forging her own destiny

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One feels infuriated reading how dismissive her male peers are of her obvious talent and how she must "guard her honor" above all.

Zo komt Agistino Tassi in haar leven - ook een schilder - maar hij heeft tijdens haar bijlessen een ander doel voor ogen. The attention to detail — so necessary in a narrative filled with painters — is absolutely engrossing and doesn’t let you forget for a moment that this is 17th-century Rome. My PTSD was the worst it had ever been, and I couldn't sleep at night without some background noise and one of my parents for company. There are so many other words you could use to describe her as you read through the pages of her journey from childhood to womanhood – spirited, irrepressible, ambitious, indefatigable, emboldened etc.Artemisia was an Italian painter, born in Rome, eventually an artist of Florence, and this novel takes place while she is still living with her family in Rome, around the time she paints one of her most famous paintings. The rise in feminism has brought Artemisia out of the shadows, and she was a very talented artist, so Fremantle has done her a service by representing her skills so strongly. Artemisia seeks to paint the truth in its more sincere form, whether that truth is amenable to society is a different matter. Artemisia has two choices -‘marry the man who attacked her and save her and her families reputation or go on trial.

This historical fiction felt like a deep dive into life in Rome in the 17th century and the restrictions on a talented artist like Artemesia Gentileschi because she was female. On many levels …At times I felt for Orazio (her father), trying to keep the family reputation intact so that his commissions didn’t dry up. I loved the happy(ish) ending that the author provided, in spite of all the hardships it took to get there. The book starts off with a magical rendition of Artemisia's childhood, the day she witnesses a beheading.Something that I admire so much in Ms Fremantle’s work is her ability to create the most palpable scenarios right from the off. In the same year she painted her infamous Judith , and one of the great Renaissance masters was born.