All of us writers have to do a fair bit of our own marketing these days – so, although it might seem like a bit of shameless self-promotion, I’m taking the opportunity to post an excerpt from ‘His Last Duchess’, along with a few reviews, both from papers and from Amazon. I hope you enjoy it!
“The main drawbridge was down. The sky was the colour of old pewter and a fine drizzle was dimpling the surface of the water in the moat. The four great red towers of the Castello Estense glowered down at the rain-slicked city like scowling sentries, the aggressively military precision of their dimensions somehow softened, blurred by the waterlogged air. Diamond droplets hung along the length of all the white stone balustrades.
A sodden group of figures turned into the main piazza in front of the Castello as the cathedral bell chimed the midday: four riders, one small cart laden with luggage, and, tethered behind the cart, a miserable and bedraggled looking white mule, ears drooping, small hooves scraping across the cobbles, as though too exhausted even to pick its feet up from the ground. The group crossed the piazza, turned towards the castle and clattered up onto the drawbridge.
As they reached the central courtyard, Giovanni de’ Medici leaned forward and ran a hand down his pony’s waterlogged neck. He kicked his feet from the stirrups, swung his leg up and over the horse’s rump and jumped down. Hunching and rolling his shoulders, Giovanni stretched his back to ease out the stiffness of hours in the saddle, as several of the Estense horsemen emerged to greet the new arrivals. One of them, tall, round-faced and cheerful, took Giovanni’s pony’s reins.
‘Thank you,’ said Giovanni. ‘Thank you – she’s absolutely soaked – they all are. Can you give her a good rub down and throw a blanket over her …?’
‘Of course, Signore – all the horses will be dried and stabled straight away.’
‘Her name’s Brezza,’ Giovanni began, ‘and she – ’
‘Vanni!’ He was interrupted by a shriek, and the sound of footsteps. ‘Vanni!’
Turning, Giovanni saw Lucrezia running across the courtyard, her skirts bunched inelegantly in both fists. He grinned and began to walk towards her. She let go of her dress and threw her arms around him; hugging her back, he lifted her right off her feet.
‘Oh, Vanni, you’re here at last! But – you’re soaking! How was your journey? Was it horrible? How are mama and – oh!’ She broke off and stood back from him, her mouth a shocked circle. ‘Oh, cielo! Violetta!’
She had seen the mule. Amused, and pleased with the impact of his surprise, Giovanni watched his cousin scramble across the courtyard to where the disgruntled donkey stood behind the cart. She wrapped her arms around its sodden and dirty white neck and the mule tossed its head and stamped a hoof, irritably. One of the stablemen began to unhitch it from the tailboard of the cart. Lucrezia cradled the creature’s muzzle in both hands and kissed it, then turned back to Giovanni, her eyes shining. The bodice and sleeves of her dress were now blotched and stained with rain and mud, and her face was dirty. Giovanni rubbed the heel of his hand across his eyes and laughed.
‘Look at you!’ he said. ‘Nothing changes …’
‘You brought her,’ Lucrezia said through a wide, muddy smile, ignoring him.
‘I take it you’re pleased.’
‘Did she complain all the way?’
Giovanni laughed again. ‘She certainly did. God, Crezzi, I can’t imagine why you’re so fond of her – she really has the filthiest temper, and the -’
‘Don’t! Don’t be horrible! She’s my darling mule and I love her – and I love you for bringing her!’ Lucrezia hugged him again. ‘Come on inside out of the rain.’
She looked around at the other riders. Raising her voice, she said, ‘Please, everybody – do come inside. The servants will show you to your rooms, where you can change out of your wet things, and then there will be hot broth and wine – and I believe a fire has been lit in the East Hall.’
Giovanni proffered an arm, feeling suddenly pleased with himself, and rather older than his fifteen years. Lucrezia took his arm with both her hands and squeezed it, smiling up at him again. More servants in bright castle livery were appearing at the doors now; they stepped out into the courtyard, looking, Giovanni thought, out of place in the open air, like a group of pet cats in a field. Their shoulders hunched against the rain, they hastened to welcome the new arrivals in out of the wet, and, in a damp huddle, the party from Cafaggiolo finally entered the Castello.
Alfonso was startled to hear a commotion in the courtyard as he strode back up from the falconry.
He slowed his pace.
Pausing in the shadows of the tunnel from the back drawbridge, he ran a hand through wet hair and looked from one figure to another. A trickle of cold rainwater ran down the back of his neck. One of his horsemen was leading a muddy cob – still harnessed to the shafts of small, covered tilt-cart – another held the reins of a good-looking little chestnut mare. Three other horses were being led away towards the stables, along with an obviously elderly, and mud-soaked white mule. A cluster of the castle servants were, Alfonso saw, irritably collecting the luggage from the cart – and then he saw her.
Lucrezia.
She had mud on her face and hands, and her dress was unaccountably filthy. Her face, though, was alight with pleasure: her eyes were shining as she laughed up at a lanky, dark-skinned boy, and Alfonso’s heart clenched tight for a moment until he recognised the newcomer. His mind on his hawks, he had quite forgotten that his wife’s cousin was due to arrive today. ”
‘Gabrielle Kimm writes with a charm that entices us into a world of intrigue and dark undertones. She creates a passionate love story that gets under your skin, intimate and touching, against a backdrop of danger and treachery. Her vivid portrayal of Medici life is rich and wonderfully imagined, as she draws a skilful portrait of a fascinating time and place.’ KATE FURNIVALL, author of THE RUSSIAN CONCUBINE
‘Gabrielle Kimm’s sultry and deeply intimate debut novel brings to life Lucrezia de’Medici, heiress to one of Italy’s richest and most powerful families, who died in mysterious circumstances only three years after her marriage. ‘His Last Duchess, a vivid portrayal of the teenage bride and the glittering but dangerously political world into which she was born, is a welcome addition to the ever popular historical novel market.
Kimm, an English and drama teacher, writes with elegance and seductive charm as she weaves her magic on a rich and colourful story of love and hatred, obsession and intrigue. Beautifully descriptive, full of fascinating period detail and simmering with tension and sexual chemistry, His Last Duchess is a love story to savour…’ Lancashire Evening Post
“His Last Duchess” is a wonderfully evocative picture of 16th Century Italy, combined with a touching love story and a thrilling who-dun-it plot, that I couldn’t put down! Gabrielle Kimm was inspired to write this book by Browning’s sinister poem,”My Last Duchess”, in which the speaker, Alfonso d’Este, is describing the portrait of the woman to whom he was married; as the poem unfolds, we realise that her demise may not have been natural! Indeed, historically, Lucrezia di Medici, who was the Duchess in question, vanished from sight three years after her marriage to d’Este, and there are no historical records of what happened to her. Kimm has taken this enigmatic poem, and spun a captivating possibile explanation of it, telling the story with vivid language, and painting unforgettable pictures, which linger in the memory long after the end – Amazon Review
‘His Last Duchess’ is a rich banquet of sumptuous detail. Set in Medici Italy, Gabrielle Kimm recreates the sights and sounds of the period with layers of evocative images that assail the senses. Against this backdrop, the drama unfolds at a swift pace. I identified easily with the characters, especially the protagonist, Lucrezia for whom I was anxious from the very beginning. The pace is maintained throughout as the characters struggle for survival within the closed walls of the Duke’s castle in Ferrara. The perfect balance of characterisation and plot sustains interest and intrigue right until the unpredictable and satisfying end of the story. I was captivated by this compelling story and I can’t wait the read the next one.
Amazon Review
His Last Duchess is a colourful, clever and compelling novel. This novel is an indulgent pleasure with a plot that is intricately layered with all the threads tightly woven together at the end. A must read for anyone who has ever truly loved another person.
Amazon Review
