Having been born with a birthmark in the shape of a bird on her face. This is something that Flavia, the main protagonist, would love to achieve. It is set in 16th Century Italy, at a time when it was fashionable for women to paint their faces in a lead based white paste called “cerussa” and the aim for the perfect face was all consuming. This book delves into the world of beauty and how beauty is perceived. Painted against a vivid historical landscape with themes and characters relevant today, it tackles issues of belonging, female identity and the perception of beauty and cannot fail to move. Set in sixteenth-century Italy and rich in description and character, Kate Howard’s stunning debut novel is perfect for fans of Patrick Süskind’s Perfume, Kate Mosse’s The Taxidermist’s Daughter and Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist. And Flavia is drawn into a world of desire and jealousy that has devastating consequences. But as white-lead paint rots the flesh below it, the bustling city, and Santa Giuliana, is rotting below the shimmer of wealth and privilege.

Flavia becomes her ornatrix: her hairdresser and personal maid.

There she meets Ghostanza, a courtesan turned widow, whose white-lead painted face entrances Flavia, and whose beauty and cruelty are unmatched. But on the night before her younger sister’s wedding, Flavia does something drastic, something that will draw her into a much wider and stranger world than she could have imagined: the convent of Santa Giuliana, just outside the city walls. Ashamed of the mark, her mother makes Flavia hide her face behind a veil on the rare occasions she is allowed to be seen in public. A dyer’s daughter, she grows up in a little house in the woods, far away from prying eyes. Published by Duckworth Overlook in July 2016.įlavia was born with a birthmark covering her face, in the shape of a bird in flight. The Ornatrix is available for purchase in Hardback, Paperback or eBook.

The ornatrix by kate howard