Italian Sonata
- Emmanuelle de Maupassant
- Oct 14, 2017
- 2 min read
Italian Sonata is the second volume in Emmanuelle de Maupassant's noire trilogy, the first being The Gentlemen's Club. This one is a full and complete story in itself but to get the most from the characters, particularly Maud and Henry, I would advise you to read The Gentlemen's Club first.
Italian Sonata is set in 1899, mostly at a castle on cliffs high above the sea near Sorrento, Italy. Henry fell deeply and unconditionally in love with Maud in The Gentlemen's Club and this book follows straight on, travelling through Europe for Maud and Henry's honeymoon. Henry's sister, Cecile, at the insistence of Maud, accompanies them on their honeymoon. Part way through their European tour, Cecile stops off at the 'Castello' for a few days to give Maud and Henry time and privacy on their honeymoon. Little does naïve Cecile know that she is a sexual pawn between debauched Lorenzo and his promiscuous sister. The Castello holds its own dark secrets and before long Cecile is out of her depth.
Emmanuelle's writing is impeccable. She writes beautifully and poetically of places, people and, of course, the erotic sex scenes. She uses different language depending on the scenes – sweet roses and moist petals for loving scenes and thrusts, clenches and aggression for brute sex.
This noire series is a work of art. The eroticism, especially in The Gentlemen's Club, is second to none and, unlike many other books of the erotic genre, Emmanuelle's have a great storyline. There is a good sense of time and place. The countries of Europe are accurately and beautifully described, and the dark, gothic feel of the castle, the clothing and smells, puts you right back to the turn of the Victorian century.
Noire trilogy books 1 and 2
