Manuel is a man of many talents; an art historian and professor, he is also an exquisite storyteller. When he meets 16-year-old Lucía on an outing from her boarding school, he offers to narrate a story of dire consequences—that of the Spanish Queen Juana of Castile and her legendary love for her husband, Philippe the Handsome.
Promised to Prince Philippe the Handsome to solidify ties between the Flemish and Spanish crowns, Queen Juana immediately fell in love with her betrothed with all the abandon and passion of her fiery personality. Theirs was one of the most tumultuous love stories of all time. 
But Juana, who was also one of the most learned princesses of the Renaissance, was forced to pay a high price for being headstrong and daring to be herself. Those at court who could not fathom Juana as heir to the throne of the most important empire of its day conspired against her and began to question her sanity. Eventually she came to be known as Juana the Mad. But was she really insane, or just a victim of her impetuosity and unbridled passion?
As the novel unfolds, Lucía and Manuel become enmeshed in a complex psychological web that seduces and incites them to relive Juana and Philippe's story, and eventually leads them to a mysterious manuscript that may hold the key to Juana's alleged madness.

The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Belli, Gioconda

Dramas & Plays

Rayo

On an outing from her boarding school, young Lucía meets Manuel—art historian and exquisite storyteller—who shares with her the tale of one of history's most tumultuous loves: Queen Juana of Castile's legendary devotion to her husband, Prince Philippe the Handsome. Embracing a union thrust upon her by political necessity, Juana responds with all the passionate abandon inherent in her fiery nature—and is forced to pay a high price for her honest sensuality. For there are those at the Renaissance court who will not allow such unabashed independence in the heir to one of the world's most powerful empires—and they declare Juana mad, denying her ascension to the throne. But is she truly insane, or is she merely a victim of her own impetuosity and unbridled desire? Or is Juana a pawn in a fierce power struggle for control of the throne? Lucía attends raptly to the tale Manuel relates—and their own story begins to miraculously, dangerously mirror that of Juana the Mad and her beloved prince.

The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel of Power, Madness, and Royalty

Harper-perennial

Un novela extraordinaria de amor y locura, en la que un historiador y una joven estudiante investigan la enigmática vida de Juana la Loca. La Reina Juana de Castilla, hija y madre de reyes, es el personaje más carismático y fascinante de un período crucial de la historia de España. Hermosa, inteligente, segura y poderosa, se rebeló contra la represión y los abusos, y luchó sin descanso por ser fiel a sí misma. En 1509, con veintinueve años, fue declarada loca y encerrada en Tordesillas, donde permaneció hasta su muerte en 1555. Cuatro siglos más tarde, a través de Lucía―una joven de asombroso parecido con la Reina Juana de Castilla―un historiador busca resolver el enigma de quien fue más conocida como Juana la Loca. ¿Enloqueció de amor, como cuenta la historia oficial, o fue víctima de traiciones y luchas por el poder? Seducida por la pasión de la palabra, Lucía se adentra en un pasado que alterará su presente para siempre. En esta novela, histórica y contemporánea, Juana de Castilla regresa para contar su propia versión de los hechos.

El Pergamino de la Seduccion: Una Novela (Spanish Edition)

“Ingenious.” 
—Vogue
“Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand takes on nothing less than the creation myth of Western culture.”
 —Salman Rushdie
The winner of the prestigious 2008 Biblioteca Breve Prize—joining such renowned Latin American luminaries as Mario Vargas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes—acclaimed poet and novelist Gioconda Belli’s Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand is a wholly creative and original re-imagining of the story of Adam and Eve and original sin. In a brilliant translation by Margaret Sayers Peyden, this remarkable new look at the Book of Genesis will appeal to readers of the novels of Isabel Allende, Anne Rice’s Jesus Chronicles, and to all lovers of great imaginative literature.

Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand: A Novel of Adam and Eve

United States

Harper

Prepare to enter a fascinating, primitive universe that goes back to the very beginning, to the story upon which Western civilization is based. Poetry and mystery go hand in hand in this transcendent novel about mankind, as never before imagined. Join Adam and Eve as they discover the world for themselves, feel their confusion and panic when they face punishment, and observe in awe as they experience the power to give life and, eventually, the ability to take it away to survive. From internationally acclaimed poet and author Gioconda Belli comes a beguiling and soulfully rewarding novela parable that captures our own time and our own uncertain future.

El mágico relato de nuestros orígenes es probablemente el que más fascinación ha inspirado en la humanidad a lo largo de los tiempos. Pero, más allá de los cuarenta versículos que la Biblia dedica a Adán y Eva, más allá incluso de la leyenda, ¿cómo sería la vida de aquella inocente, valiente y conmovedora primera pareja? ¿Cómo sería aquel universo primigenio? ¿Cuál fue el impulso que motivó a que Eva tomara la manzana prohibida? ¿Y qué pensamientos le pasaron por la cabeza a ambos una vez que comprendieron las consecuencias de lo que Eva acababa de hacer?Prepárese para adentrar en un mundo fascinante y primitivo que lo llevará al comienzo de todo, a la historia en la que se basa la civilización judío-cristiana. Poesía y misterio se dan la mano en esta sorprendente novela que nos presenta al primer hombre y la primera mujer descubriéndose y descubriendo su entorno, experimentando el desconcierto ante el castigo, el poder de dar vida y la crueldad de matar para sobrevivir.Esta novela que nos brinda Gioconda Belli es una parábola para nuestros tiempos y para un futuro inesperado que logra cautivar y complacer cada centímetro de nuestra alma.

El infinito en la palma de la mano: Novela (Spanish Edition)

El mágico relato de nuestros orígenes es probablemente el que más fascinación ha inspirado en la humanidad a lo largo de los tiempos. Pero, más allá de los cuarenta versículos que la Biblia dedica a Adán y Eva, más allá incluso de la leyenda, ¿cómo sería la vida de aquella inocente, valiente y conmovedora primera pareja? ¿Cómo sería aquel universo primigenio? ¿Cuál fue el impulso que motivó a que Eva tomara la manzana prohibida? ¿Y qué pensamientos le pasaron por la cabeza a ambos una vez que comprendieron las consecuencias de lo que Eva acababa de hacer? Prepárese para adentrar en un mundo fascinante y primitivo que lo llevará al comienzo de todo, a la historia en la que se basa la civilización judío-cristiana. Poesía y misterio se dan la mano en esta sorprendente novela que nos presenta al primer hombre y la primera mujer descubriéndose y descubriendo su entorno, experimentando el desconcierto ante el castigo, el poder de dar vida y la crueldad de matar para sobrevivir. Esta novela que nos brinda Gioconda Belli es una parábola para nuestros tiempos y para un futuro inesperado que logra cautivar y complacer cada centímetro de nuestra alma.

Lavinia is The Inhabited Woman: accomplished, independent, and fiercely modern. She is sheltered and self-involved, until the spirit of an Indian woman warrior enters her being, then she dares to join a revolutionary movement against a violent dictator and—through the power of love—finds the courage to act. The Wisconsin edition is for sale only in North America.

The Inhabited Woman (THE AMERICAS)

Literary

University of Wisconsin Press

An electrifying memoir from the acclaimed Nicaraguan writer (“A wonderfully free and original talent”—Harold Pinter) and central figure in the Sandinista Revolution. Until her early twenties, Gioconda Belli inhabited an upper-class cocoon: sheltered from the poverty in Managua in a world of country clubs and debutante balls; educated abroad; early marriage and motherhood. But in 1970, everything changed. Her growing dissatisfaction with domestic life, and a blossoming awareness of the social inequities in Nicaragua, led her to join the Sandinistas, then a burgeoning but still hidden organization. She would be involved with them over the next twenty years at the highest, and often most dangerous, levels. Her memoir is both a revelatory insider’s account of the Revolution and a vivid, intensely felt story about coming of age under extraordinary circumstances. Belli writes with both striking lyricism and candor about her personal and political lives: about her family, her children, the men in her life; about her poetry; about the dichotomies between her birth-right and the life she chose for herself; about the failures and triumphs of the Revolution; about her current life, divided between California (with her American husband and their children) and Nicaragua; and about her sustained and sustaining passion for her country and its people.

The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War

Cordero, Kristina

History

KNOPF

In this love story set against the backdrop of revolution, Lavinia, a beautiful young woman from the upper class, becomes infused with the spirit of an ancient woman warrior and breaks free from her sheltered world, joining with rebels involved in a tragic, bloody struggle to free their country from an oppressive military dictatorship.

The Inhabited Woman

GRAND CENTRAL PUB.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Belli, Gioconda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Belli, Gioconda

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Belli, Gioconda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel

The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel of Power, Madness, and Royalty

El Pergamino de la Seduccion: Una Novela (Spanish Edition)

Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand: A Novel of Adam and Eve

Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand: A Novel of Adam and Eve

El infinito en la palma de la mano: Novela (Spanish Edition)

El infinito en la palma de la mano: Novela (Spanish Edition)

The Inhabited Woman (THE AMERICAS)

The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War

The Inhabited Woman