Review: Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle

The Borrowers Book Group at Kesgrave Library share their thoughts on Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle, a gripping feminist retelling of a seventeenth century heroine forging her own destiny.

Interested in reading Disobedient? You can borrow a copy from our catalogue →

About Disobedient

Rome 1611. A city where women are seen but not heard. Artemisia Gentileschi dreams of becoming a great artist. Motherless, she grows up among a family of painters – men and boys. She knows she is more talented than her brothers, but she cannot choose her own future. She wants to experience the world, but she belongs to her father and will belong to a husband.

As Artemisia patiently goes from lesson to lesson, perfecting her craft, she also paints in private, recreating the women who inspire her, away from her father’s eyes. Until a mysterious tutor enters her life. Tassi is a dashing figure, handsome and worldly, and for a moment he represents everything that a life of freedom might offer. But then the unthinkable happens.

In the eyes of her family, Artemisia should accept her fate. In the eyes of the law, she is the villain. But Artemisia is a survivor. And this is her story to tell.

Book Group Review

This is an enjoyable book set in Rome in 1611 about the life of the artist Artemisia Gentileschi, highlighting an amazing woman artist of the Renaissance. Artemisia grew up with her father and brothers, her mother having died, and learnt her craft from assisting her father Orazio. However, expectations for a woman at that time were either to marry well and so bring financial security to the family or enter a nunnery. Artemisia defied this in wanting to be an artist.

The character of Artemisia was strong and based on documents and facts from her life. The other characters were not so very well developed, however we enjoyed the descriptions of the studio and found it very interesting the way the author’s visual eye brought to life how Artemisia viewed life as an artist.

We learnt how rich in art was Italian culture at this time as well as aspects of ordinary life. We had not realised how constrained and restricted were the lives of women who could not even go out without a chaperone.

We wanted to keep reading to see what happens but did question how much was true about her life.

Recommendation: An enjoyable book, informative about the life of a great, rebellious woman artist of the Italian Renaissance, and an ideal holiday read, even better if in Italy!