The Palace

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century Venice, The Palace is an enchanting novel that explores the boundaries of love and obsession. A rich, romantic story about a peasant named Gabriele de Campo, who while languishing in prison befriends his cellmate -- the nobleman Colonel Giovanni Vitelli. Gabriele has long yearned to be pulled from poverty, and to win the heart of the beautiful noblewoman Donna Donatella. Under the tutelage of Vitelli, he educates himself in the customs of the gentry, all the while planning to construct a palace that would embody all of the passion that Donatella has awakened in him. When de Campo emerges from prison, he finds riches as a fearless gambler in the underworld of Venice and finally begins to build the palace of his dreams. It seems that at last he might win Donna Donatella's love. The Palace is an exquisite novel of passion, obsession, and the labor of love.