The Stolen Lady written by Laura Morelli explores another little known topic of World War II.

Morelli builds a beautiful novel around the artwork hidden during the war to save it from Nazi hands.

I have read and reviewed a few different books here about the Mona Lisa painting. Like her famous smile the story of the Mona Lisa and who she was has been a unresolved mystery for years. This book introduces us to who the famous unknown lady might have been and how her painting ended up in the Louvre in Paris, then how it was saved from the Nazis, as they took Paris and tried to steal the art.

In alternating chapters the story of Lisa Gherardini, and her maid servant, Bellini Sardi who accompanies Lisa as she marries a prosperous silk merchant. We see the closed world of women at this time in society. As we learn about the government of Medici that Lisa's husband follows the Florentines are preparing to rise up against the Medici and a young monk convinces Bellini to join their efforts.

Then in the later story, at the dawn of WWII, Anne Guichard, is a young archivist employed at the Louvre. Anne joins the effort helping move artwork including the Mona Lisa to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre’s most precious artworks are being transferred to ensure their safety.

This book was fast paced with intrigue and suspense, but also so interesting in the historical events it covers and so much new information to me.

This is a historical fiction with dual timelines. Unfortunately, one timeline is stronger than the other. I loved the WWII story but didn't love the other.

Content warnings: war, Nazis, murder

When Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned in 1503 to paint a portrait of a wealthy silk merchant's wife, he did not know that Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo's portrait would be his most famous work 450 years later. The Renaissance timeline follows Leonardo and Lisa's maid Bellina, who hides the portrait from the rest of the household when Leonardo leaves it at the palazzo. This timeline also establishes how the painting ended up in France at the Lovre instead of in the del Giocondo's home.

Before World War II begins, Louvre archivist Anne ventures to the French countryside with sequestered works of art. The Mona Lisa is one of the works transported from location to location as the Germans advance. She stumbles into a friendship with an Italian truck driver who is helping transport the art; he is cast out of the Louvre camp when Italy joins forces with Germany. Feeling alone and worrying about her family in Paris, Anne's mission becomes stopping the Nazis from taking the art or her homeland.

Recommended for WWI fiction readers and art enthusiasts.

The Stolen Lady is a historical novel about the portrait of the Mona Lisa. Bellina is a house servant to Lisa Gherardini, who is the model for the portrait of the Mona Lisa. Leonardo Da Vinci is the artist of the portrait. Anne is an archivist at the Louvre who is tasked with protecting the portrait of Mona Lisa during WWII. This novel is about how the portrait was created and later how it was kept out of the Nazis’ hands.

There are three main narrators in this novel. They are Anne, Bellina, and Leonardo. I really could not connect with any of the characters. Anne’s story was the most exciting of the novel because of how she protected the Mona Lisa from the enemy. However, I found her character to be stereotypical and bland. She is not given much development. She has no flaws. I did at times find her courageous and intelligent. However, I wished there was more development. Bellina is an unnecessary character. She is largely overshadowed by her mistress, who I thought was more interesting. I often wondered why Lisa Gherardini was not the narrator of this story. Leonardo Da Vinci was the most interesting character, but his storyline was very undeveloped and did little to enhance the plot.

Overall, this novel did not seem to know what it wanted to be. There were three different storylines all molded into one novel. I honestly thought this should have been three separate novels rather than one. Maybe because there was too much going on in this novel, the storylines and characters were not developed. There was no cohesive storyline. Everything seemed disjointed and jumbled together. It would have been better to have focused solely on one timeline and character. The story also seemed to be overly long and drawn out. It could have been shortened. Nevertheless, The Stolen Lady is very well-researched. I recommend this for art history lovers. However, for fans of the Mona Lisa, there are better books out there. For a nonfiction novel that discusses the history of Mona Lisa, I recommend Mona Lisa: A Discovered Life. For historical novels about the Mona Lisa, I recommend I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons, I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis, and The Smile by Donna Jo Napoli. Therefore, The Stolen Lady is a very forgettable novel, and there are more superior versions about this painting already written.

The Stolen Lady by Laura Morelli
Source: NetGalley, William Morrow, and Audible Purchase
DNF @ 20%

Oh, boy! Y’all know my intense love of all things Art History and historical fiction, but I must tell you, I couldn’t get through this one. I tried to stick with this one - I tried physically reading and listening to this book – given my love of the genre but after reading/listening to the same basic story for the first 20% of the book, I had to call it quits. My greatest issue and the ultimate reason I gave up on this book had to do with pacing; there was a load of driving back and forth and waiting around for the next arrival or need to move the same artwork. I just lost patience with the pacing and the repeated actions and that was the end.

There are three main characters that are set in alternating chapters. Bellina and Leonardo Da Vinci, in Florence in the late 1400’s, and Anne, a typist for the curators of the Louvre in the 1940’s. As a young woman, Bellina was tasked with staying by the side of Lisa, wife to a wealthy Florentine family. Leonardo was a painter who moved a lot between Milan and Florence, looking for opportunities to create. Anne’s story was the most interesting and exciting, as she becomes a part of the group that works to save the Louvre’s artwork from the Nazis efforts to plunder. At the heart of all the stories is the painting of Lisa, the famous Mona Lisa. Well written and a good read, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this wonderful historical fiction about saving the Mona Lisa during WWII. I often think that we don't hear of the bravery of the people who risked everything to try to save beloved cultural items from destruction. This was a great and engaging story! Laura Morelli is an expert in art history, so it's well-researched, too.
Thank you, NG, for my copy!

The Stolen Lady has dual timelines and three points of view. France 1939 has Anne Giuchard, a young typist at the Louvre, asked to join a perilous mission. She and other staff must move the priceless artwork and treasures, including the Mona Lisa, to the Castle of Chambord and away from the advancing Nazis. But as the Nazis keep drawing closer, she and the others are forced to keep moving and hiding them. The second timeline is Florence 1479. Bellina Sardi is servant to Lisa Gherardini or “Mona Lisa”, the young wife of a wealthy silk merchant. Bellina is caught up in the preaching of Girolamo Savonarola, who urges the poor to revolt against the rich and burn their belongings. In this timeline is Leonardo da Vinci’s point of view, who moves from one city to another, focusing on his engineering works and starting masterpieces but having difficulties finishing them.

The Stolen Lady provides fascinating insight into the history of the Mona Lisa. The Florence timeline is about the woman behind the enigmatic expression, the artist, and the influence of politics and the social climate on the world of art. The politics and times, however, are in the background, brewing and creating noise but never overpowering the characterizations or story. The WWII timeline focuses on the constant upheaval and protection of the Louvre’s treasures. In both timelines, Bellina and Anne are forced to protect the Mona Lisa while growing as people. Bellina comes into her own, breaking away from the pressure of the political and religious restrictions, while Anne becomes strong enough to use a gun to protect both the artwork and her colleagues. A thoroughly enjoyable read
Reviewed for the Historical Novel Society

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow Books for the gifted book!

I love historical fiction books set in the 1700s and later, but generally don't have an interest in those set before. Morelli expertly managed to capture my interest equally for the timelines beginning in 1479 and 1939.

1479: Bellina is a servant whose life is tied to serving her mistress Lisa even as she marries and moves into the home of her prosperous silk merchant husband. Bellina finds herself caught between a bewitching monk who is against the excess of extravagance and her mistress for whom Master Leonardo da Vinci has been commissioned to paint a portrait.

Leonardo wrestles with his desire to make art while he still has to make money to sustain his lavish taste. He has become notorious for leaving works unfinished as he becomes disinterested in them. He sees painting the portrait of a rich man's wife beneath his skills.

1939: Anne is a novice archivist employed at the Louvre at the dawn of the German occupation of France. In the chaos she finds her beloved brother is missing and herself recruited to help move the Louvre's most precious artworks including the masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, out of the reach of the Germans.

Bellina, Leonardo, and Anne all have to wrestle with their priorities and their identities as we read how this simple commissioned portrait transformed to shape each of their lives in drastic ways. Morelli has a Ph.D. in art history from Yale and is able to craft a story about this iconic artwork that brings it to life. She highlights how it has come to prominence even through its unconventional origins. Through this story she gives readers an education on the role this painting plays in the culture changing movements in which it was created and saved from destruction.

A WWII fiction novel that doesn't focus on the frontlines of the war, but the people of France trying to protect paintings and other works of art from the Nazis. I loved the dual time especially the 1470s when the Mona Lisa was being painted. I've never read a dual time where both time lines were in the past.

When I first saw the cover for The Stolen Lady, I was intrigued. Then I read the description. That is when I knew I had to read this book. The book combines the story behind Leonarda da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and efforts by the Louvre staff to protect her from the Nazis.

The Stolen Lady took quite some time for me to read. I am not a fast reader to begin with, and I broke away from this book to read others. This is a great story, but it just did not keep my attention. There are parts that were heart-pumping, making me want to continue to see what would happen next. Then there were times when I looked ahead to see how much farther I had to get to a stopping point. (I do not like to stop mid-chapter.)

The Stolen Lady is written from the points of view of three people vital to the Mona Lisa’s history: Leonardo da Vinci, the artist; Bellina, Lisa’s servant; and Anne, a Louvre archivist who, along with other staff members from the Louvre, will stop at nothing to protect the masterpieces in her care, especially the iconic Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci’s chapters are written in first person. They give the reader insight into his thoughts and motivations. It is as if the author was inside his head in the 1500s. The reader gets a good idea of da Vinci’s eccentricities and attitudes toward different classes of people and different commissions. Morelli shows da Vinci’s reluctance to paint Lisa, a merchant’s wife, and then how that reluctance turned to obsession at making sure she was perfect.

Bellina has been responsible for Lisa since the day Lisa’s father put her in Bellina’s arms the day of Lisa’s christening. Bellina was just a child hersaelf at the time, but she took her responsibilities seriously, always putting the needs of her mistress ahead of her own.

Last, but certainly not least, is Anne. She and other staff members travel all over France in an attempt to keep the Louvre’s priceless treasures out of the hands of the Nazis.

I will be honest here. The historical aspects of the book are what drew me in. The fact that The Stolen Lady centered around the Mona Lisa had less to do with my interest than the time periods in which the book took place. I am quite literal by nature. I have never been one to look at a piece of art and see hidden meanings or try to figure out what the artist was thinking when s/he was painting a specific piece. I have always wondered why a painting could not just be a reflection of what the artist was seeing at that moment in time – no hidden messages or meanings or revelations of a particular mood. That is not to say that I do not appreciate masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa as well as other forms of art. The web of stories that intertwined to create the Mona Lisa’s story as presented by Morellie makes me wish I could travel to Paris and see hre in person just to sit and study her for as long as I wanted.

I do not know if the events in The Stolen Lady unfolded in the real world they way they did in the book’s world. Howecer, if Laura Morelli told me everything in The Stolen Lady was factual, I would believe her. She describes historical events in a way that could very well be first-hand accounts. More than that, she is an internationally recognized art historian. I cannot imagine anyone who would know the story of the Mona Lisa better that Laura Morelli.

As for the book, the story was good, but it seemed to drag a bit too long. Some details could have probably been omitted without taking away from the story itself. The chapters about Bellina and Anne are written in third person, unlike Leonardo’s first person point of view. This, in my view, takes a little bit away from the story because it does not seem the reader is seeing everything from their points of view personally. Instead, they are written more like passed down stories from someone who may or may not have been there when things happened. I would have enjoyed the book more if all three chapters had been in first person. Nonetheless, I am glad I chose to read The Stolen Lady. Anyone who loves history and/or art will surely enjoy The Stolen Lady.

This is a fascinating story of a group of people who protected the priceless works of art house at the Louvre during WWII, with alternating timeline chapters following Leonardo DaVinci and the family of the woman who would eventually sit for DaVinci as he created the Mona Lisa.

I haven't finished reading yet, but this book is tremendous. The story of DaVinci and Bellina - Lisa's long time lady's maid - read as though that is what happened. The storytelling is beautiful and the research into the art history of "La Joconde" is perfect.

I highly recommend this read for fans of historical fiction, particularly of the WWII era, as it is a unique and enthralling tale.

I really enjoyed the WW2 storyline in The Stolen Lady, but the Italy story line just didn't hold my attention. I considered just reading the one storyline, but found myself letting it sit. It just didn't work for me this time. Thank you for letting me try!

I was drawn to The Stolen Lady by Laura Morelli because it was historical fiction told from three points of view: one from France in 1939 through 1945 and two from Florence in 1479 through the early 1500’s. I liked that all points of view were in the past; for some reason, I don’t like when one point of view takes place in present day, where invariably, the link is an old letter, a diary, a piece of jewelry, etc. The common link in this book was the Mona Lisa painting.

Anne Guichard is employed as a mere archivist’s assistant at the Louvre when World War II breaks out. When asked by her boss whether she wants to travel with and protect the great museum’s treasures, including the Mona Lisa, Anne jumps at the chance. So begins her journey of moving from place to place throughout the war.

In Italy in 1479, we have the story of Bellina Sardi, who works for the Gherardini family and cares for the daughter Lisa, whose smile will become famous as the inspiration for da Vinci’s iconic painting. We also get Leonardo da Vinci’s point of view as he comes to create what will become his masterpiece, the Mona Lisa.

The book was written very well, and the pace of the story compelled me to keep turning the pages. I knew from history that the Mona Lisa survives, but the tale was still harrowing.

The two female characters were fictional, and their development throughout the book was just okay, as I didn’t think some of Anne’s actions later on seemed to fit her personality, even though war would have changed her. Bellina was better developed, and I really liked how she grew and came into her own later in the book.

The history of da Vinci’s life was very interesting, as were the adventures of how the Louvre’s paintings were protected during the war. I would have never guessed that the Mona Lisa was traversed over hills, valleys and other treacherous terrain during the war.

I will recommend this to readers who like historical fiction about art.

Thanks to the publisher, William Morrow and Custom House, as well as NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

*Thank you so much to the publishers for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review*

The Stolen Lady
by Laura Morelli
Pub Date: 9/21/21

France, 1939

At the dawn of World War II, Anne Guichard, a young archivist employed at the Louvre, arrives home to find her brother missing. While she works to discover his whereabouts, refugees begin flooding into Paris and German artillery fire rattles the city. Once they reach the city, the Nazis will stop at nothing to get their hands on the Louvre’s art collection. Anne is quickly sent to the Castle of Chambord, where the Louvre’s most precious artworks - including the Mona Lisa - are being transferred to ensure their safety. With the Germans hard on their heels, Anne frantically moves the Mona Lisa and other treasures again and again in an elaborate game of hide and seek. As the threat to the masterpieces and her life grows closer, Anne also begins to learn the truth about her brother and the role he plays in this dangerous game.

Florence, 1479

House servant Bellina Sardi’s future seems fixed when she accompanies her newly married mistress, Lisa Gherardini, to her home across the Arno. Lisa’s husband, a prosperous silk merchant, is aligned with the powerful Medici, his home filled with luxuries and treasures. But soon, Bellina finds herself bewitched by a charismatic monk who has urged Florentines to rise up against the Medici and to empty their homes of the riches and jewels her new employer prizes. When Master Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa, Bellina finds herself tasked with hiding an impossible secret.

When art and war collide, Leonardo da Vinci, his beautiful subject Lisa, and the portrait find themselves in the cross hairs of history.

I am a huge fan in dual timelines especially in my historical fiction. The shift back and forth between the centuries was captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed the tidbits of real life events woven into this beautiful story.

I was very excited for this book as it sounded interesting and unique. While I enjoyed the story lines separately, they didn't flow well back and forth and overall were a bit disjointed. The pacing also didn't work very well as one timeline would be slow, then another timeline would have a lot of action, so it was hard to follow. I did learn some new facts about each time period and I am interested to explore more in the future.

This is the third book I have read in the past month that has Nazi Stolen art as one of its themes. The Riviera House by Natasha Lester and Night Gate by Peter May are the firs two. This historical novel expands that subject to give readers a chance to see the Mona Lisa through Da Vinci’s eyes, through the eyes of the Louvre clerk who was instrumental in hiding it from the Germans, and through the eyes of the servant who cared for Lisa Giocondo,
the portrait’s subject.
These three viewpoints give a unique perspective to the subject and this book is recommended whether or not you have read the other books. All three books did a great job of incorporating historical sources and none conflict with one another.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheStolenLady for an advanced digital copy.

I wasn't fully in love with this one. I was really excited about the premise. I love stories about the art of WWII. I couldn't quite get into this story though. The multiple POVs and the time jumps felt a bit disjointed and didn't flow well for me.

“In the end, we are all hiding something.” Thus begins the thread of each narrative section of Laura Morelli’s THE STOLEN LADY, the glue that binds her triptych. In historical fiction, the characters are all dead by now, which means that we know the end of their story. But in the BEST historical fiction, the reader always LEARNS something new about the characters and the eras—even the legendary events they lived through.

Such is the case with Laura Morelli’s compelling new novel of the tortured history of Leonardo da Vinci’s creation of the Mona Lisa and the spectacular efforts made by a courageous team of curators from the Louvre to hide his masterpiece from the Germans when the Nazis invaded France during the Second World War. Morelli composes her sprawling (and I do mean sprawling: as an e-book it runs to a page-turning nearly 1000 pages!) narrative as a triptych: three stories that seamlessly complement and enhance each other as the plot advances. The central character of each segment of the story takes a lengthy and arduous journey.

Leonardo is the first-person narrator of his own story as we witness over the years the tensions between his passion to innovate, whether they be inventions of war or what we’d call “infrastructure” today and the necessity of maintaining an aristocratic patronage that will enable him to continue to survive and thrive—whether it’s royal or clerical commissions for grand murals; or wealthy merchants who hire him to paint their wives. The problem with Leo is that he often fails to finish anything, and clients often don’t pay.

In 16th century Florence, Bellina is a servant who spends the better part of the narrative in the house of the del Giocondo family. We meet her as an adolescent in charge of caring for the infant Lisa Gherardini who will marry a wealthy silk merchant. Lisa’s entire adult life appears to consist of wearing sumptuous garments and bearing numerous children. She’s perpetually miserable. Bellina seems to be the only one who truly knows and cares about her mistress. Or does she? Swayed by one of the anti-Medici youth who convinces her to follow the fiery ascetic cleric Savonarola, Bellina’s heresy against her employers threatens their safety. Deciding where her loyalties truly lie is part of Bellina’s own journey.

In the third thread of Morelli’s narrative, Anne is a young clerical worker in the Louvre tasked with assisting her employers in the monumental mission of not only recording every precious artifact in the vast museum, but risking her life (and the safety of the art) in spiriting the works out of Paris. Meanwhile, her unreliable brother has evanesced; and her mother, a raddled chanteuse who goes by the name of Kiki, remains in Paris, boozed up and performing for the Vichy government and the Nazis.

“Wars are not won by an underwater boat or a flying machine or a bulletproof wagon,” sneers Leonardo’s father, a notary, who wishes his son would focus on commissions that pay. Tell that to Morelli’s 20th century characters, where superior tanks, aircraft, and submarine technology will save the world from a monster.

Parallels abound between the events of WWII; and those of 16th century Italy and the perpetual tensions between her City-States themselves and France. In the 20th century, there was even a dispute as to whether the Mona Lisa was rightfully the property of Italy or France (the final surprise of where the canvas ended up and why, in the 16th century is another “wow” moment).

No matter the century, the haves and have-nots distrust each other. In Morelli’s novel, family and community is often what you make yourself—not necessarily your own flesh and blood. Her central characters must remain vigilant, to be one step ahead of whichever faction is the violent one with the upper hand—whether it’s the Nazis in the 20th century narrative; and any number of invaders and troublemakers in the 16th century stories: from the French army to the Pope’s army to Savonarola’s followers who wish to destroy all luxuries and “vanities,” including works of fine art.

My only quibble with Morelli’s masterwork is that in the 20th century narrative, Anne’s mother Kiki remains in Paris dancing on nightclub tabletops for German patrons. With the luxury of so many pages to tell the full story of THE STOLEN LADY, why rush the end of Anne’s panel of the triptych without an exchange between Anne and her mother, where we get Kiki’s point of view about the way she’s lived the past six years of occupation and any moral compromises she made or attacks of conscience she may have had? True, Kiki is not a main character: Morelli has managed to fully portray her with a few quick colorful strokes near the beginning of Anne’s story. But for this reason—and because she’s also the mother Anne left behind in occupied Paris—she is a memorable creation; so I felt the need to get something from Kiki about how it felt to be at the mercy of the enemy at every moment. Especially given the way Morelli advances Anne’s journey from passive to aggressive Nazi fighter.

For centuries the world has wondered what Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo is smiling about. But Morelli cleverly takes her narrative in another direction. Her Lisa is perpetually morose. Why? Is she unhappily married? Suffers from post-partum depression? Another form of what we might call clinical depression? Is she miserable because, ironically, thanks to her husband’s wealth, she’s a pampered Florentine signore with absolutely nothing to do with herself all day? We are left to wonder, and that’s as it should be. “In the end, we are all hiding something.”

[I received a complimentary copy of THE STOLEN LADY in exchange for my review. My opinions are entirely my own.]

Many thanks to Laura Morelli, HarperCollins Publishers, and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of “The Stolen Lady”.

Wow! What a read! I only regret that I did not have it to read before going to Florence and Paris a few years ago! Laura Morelli does a wonderful job of seamlessly weaving the stories of the three main characters (Anne, Bellina, and Leonardo da Vinci) You will feel as if it is you who is fleeing all over France to protect the Louvre treasures (the Mona Lisa especially) from falling into the hands of the Nazis! I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about da Vinci than I had known prior to reading this work…I had no idea that he was such a very colorful character! I was constantly looking up on Google places/things mentioned in the book! If you like historical fiction, you will love this book!