What a Woman Can Do: A Novel Based on the Life of Artemisia Gentileschi

Weary of hearing what a woman couldnt do she had no choice but to show them what she could. Four centuries later the world finally noticed.Though she was just a girl Artemisia Gentileschis father recognized and nurtured his daughters raw talent and escorted her into the male-dominated elite circle of seventeenth-century fine artists. Later dishonored in the most humiliating way and betrayed by her father for the sake of his own reputation and fortune the Caravaggio-inspired teenager summoned the fortitude to confront the monster who had stolen her virtue in a very public months-long trial.At a time when a womans reputation meant everything Artemisia was considered damaged goods. Undeterred she forged a daring path earning a living through commissions from popes and cardinals dukes and duchesses kings and queens. Though traditionally objectified in art Artemisias brushstrokes celebrated womens strength and defiance.For centuries her father got credit for many of her paintings but today they stand on their own merit their creators dishonor and personal tragedies lost to time. Until now.