Vanitas

Vanitas is a novel written by Vernon Lee, originally published in 1892. The story is set in Florence, Italy, during the 16th century and follows the life of a young Englishman named Arthur Severn. Arthur is an artist who has come to Florence to study the works of the great masters and to find inspiration for his own work.While in Florence, Arthur becomes enamored with a young woman named Elena, who is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. However, Elena is already engaged to another man, and Arthur must navigate his feelings for her while also trying to establish himself as an artist.As Arthur becomes more involved with Elena, he begins to uncover a dark secret about her family and their connection to a mysterious painting known as the Vanitas. The Vanitas is said to hold a curse that brings death and misfortune to anyone who possesses it.As Arthur delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the Vanitas, he finds himself in danger and must use all his skills as an artist and his courage as a man to uncover the truth and save himself and Elena.Vanitas is a gripping tale of love, art, and mystery set against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy. Lee's vivid descriptions of Florence and its people bring the story to life, and her exploration of the themes of love, death, and the power of art make this a timeless classic.""Dear me, dear me, what a dreadful place!"" he kept ejaculating, as he followed Lady Atalanta, carrying her bags of oranges and rolls, among the vociferating, grabbing beldames in bed, and the indifferent nuns and serving wenches toiling about noisily: Lady Tal going methodically her way, businesslike, cheerful, giving to one some snuff, to another an orange or a book, laughing, joking in her bad Italian, settling the creatures' disagreeable bed-clothes and pillows for them, as if instead of cosseting dying folk, she was going round to the counters of some huge shop. A most painful exhibition, thought Marion.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.