The Second Mrs. Gioconda

By: E.L Konigsburg
Published by: Simon and Schuster in 1975, 140 pages
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction

When a ten year-old thief, a plain duchess and a mastermind crisscrossed in life, nobody at the time would have guessed that all three characters had a hand in the creation of a puzzling riddle that had perplexed art historians for centuries-the mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa. Through the omniscient, elaborate labyrinth of a plot woven by E.L. Konigsburg peeks through a central motive: Why did Leonardo da Vinci devote three years to a painting of the second wife of an unimportant merchant when all the nobles of Europe were begging for a portrait by his hand? This thoughtful, poignant tale illustrates (in an understated way), the ways of the freelance and the lesser in society-mastering the art of begging for understanding, searching for approval, and constantly finding ways to justify your questionable actions.


Our tale begins in the late 1400s in the bustling city of Milan, Italy-home to the powerful Il Moro, innumerable talented artists and wealthy merchants...in other words, the Italian Capital of talent and opportunities. A poor street urchin’s luck and chance are the main elements that allow the complex plot to unfold. Soon after after being confronted by Leonardo da Vinci, Salai-a ten-year old street beggar unexpectedly joined the art world as one of the many apprentices in the workshops of Leonardo da Vinci. At the court of Duke Ludovico Sforza(Leonardo’s patron), Salai quickly picks up the queer ways of his master. He learns how to make him laugh, feel better, and how to understand his cold and omniscient nature. Before long, the duke gets married to Beatrice-a girl whose plain face masked her vivacious and charming nature. Soon, after meeting in the castle garden, Salai and Beatrice become very good friends. It is revealed that the new duchess had long suffered from lack of attention as everyone’s eyes were on her gorgeous (but arrogant) sister. For a while, the duke neglected her and sent her from castle to castle so that he could visit his mistress. After consulting Salai and da Vinci, she finally breaks free of the plain package labeled “duchess” and shows off her captivating character. She claims the attention of everyone including the Duke. Salai simply gloried in her newly-found friend’s triumph. Unfortunately, with all her newly claimed attention, she soon outgrew her need for Salai. Many years passed and this container of time held tragic deaths, grave misunderstandings, unexpected times of hardship, but also deep, hidden morals, secrets, and touching lessons.



This book is told mainly through the adolescent eyes of the main protagonist-Salai in third-person point of view. The childish mischievous nature of Salai creates a satisfying juxtaposition with the more serious and thoughtful atmosphere of this book. Mrs. Konigsburg used a very diverse palette of literary devices in an effective manner and is clearly very experienced in building up suspense. Ominous and powerful foreshadowing usage was also evident. At first, I thought the title of the story was a little bit misleading as there is no mention of Mrs.Gioconda anywhere until the last chapter. However, the satisfying conclusion and unraveling of the plot at the end was definitely worth the wait. When reading this fascinating tale, I almost felt like I had taken a trip to 1500th century Italy and was experiencing the events firsthand. Everything described from introduction to conclusion was very concise and detailed- like a pencil sketch. I especially liked how the author kept hidden some aspects of the book and allowed the reader to find things out by themselves by using their own logic and provided clues. The characters were developed really strongly. In my opinion, the best-developed character was Isabella. Right from the start, everyone could see that the spoiled, haughty drama queen who was used to getting everything handed to her on a silver platter was the clear antagonist. I think, however, that there were some parts that weren’t really relevant to the story line and could have been simply taken out. An example of one place would be chapter eleven as it has no real significance and doesn’t really contribute to the building of the plot. Overall, I thought this book was very educational and heartwarming. I would recommend this book for future book studies and the average reader who just reads for the pure pleasure of reading.

Happy reading everyone!

E.L. Konigsburg wrote one of my favorite books from childhood, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, so when I spotted this at a library bookstore I scooped it up. It didn't disappoint, it was a couple hours of historical fiction from the point of view of Saila, an assistant to Leonardo da Vinci. He humanized not only da Vinci, but gave voice to Beatrice d'Este, wife of Il Moro the Duke of Milan and a major supporter of da Vinci. Beatrice was plain, but Saila kind of fell in the love with the charming and smart Beatrice and made everyone, including this reader, fall a little in love with her.

"This was a woman who knew that she was not pretty and who had learned to live with that knowledge. This was a woman whose acceptance of herself had made her beautiful in a deep and hidden way. A woman whose look told you that you were being sized up by a measuring rod in her head; a measuring rod on which she alone had etched the units. A woman who knew how to give pleasure and how to give pain. A woman who knew how to endure. A woman of layers."

The Second Mrs. Gioconda by E.L Konigsburg

tE.L Konigsburg was an American writer of children’s books and young adult fiction. She has won two Newbery Medals. The Second Mrs. Gioconda was her eighth book, published in the United States by Simon and Schuster in 1975 with 140 pages. The Second Mrs Gioconda is a historical fiction novel about Leonardo Da Vinci and why he had painted the Mona Lisa. This book is from a third-person perspective, but following the thoughts of Salai, the main character.

tThe novel begins with a question: “Why did Leonardo da Vinci choose to paint the portrait of the second wife of an unimportant Florentine merchant when dukes and duchesses were begging for a portrait by his hand?” The prologue also introduces the main character, Salai from quotes from Leonardo’s notebook. The following chapters establish the setting, characters, and how they met. Salai is scared of Leonardo at first, but he learns to respect and befriend the master. Soon, The duke of Milan, Il Moro, is set to marry a young sixteen-year-old girl named Beatrice. Salai meets Beatrice and they soon become close friends. Beatrice laments about how the duke is not satisfied with her and instead is in love with his mistress, Cecilia Gallerani. Beatrice is encouraged by Salai’s witty nature and decides to invoke a sense of fun in the duke. The duke grows more in love with Beatrice, and she grows farther away from Salai. The shocking event near the end of the book causes Salai and Leonardo’s relationship to strain, but they move to Florence together. The ending reveals the true identity of the Mona Lisa and why Leonardo had chosen to paint her.

tI would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. It had certainly achieved its goal of educating and entertaining people of all ages and had personally taught me a lot about the Renaissance era. However, a moment I did not like was when Salai threw up on a man he was sitting on. That moment seemed too ‘filler’ and unfit for this genre. The writing style was easy to understand, and the dialogue seemed like it was from the Renaissance era.
tThe book had many strengths and few weaknesses. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, art, or drama. Overall, it was a great book and I would read it again.

The Second Mrs. Giaconda was a great book. If I had chosen it off the shelves at the library would not have had wanted to finish it, but since I was forced to read it for a Literature Circle I really liked it and would recommend it too anyone interested in Leonardo da Vinci.

The second mrs Gioconda
The second mrs Gioconda is about Leoanrdo de Vinci and salai learning about each other. They’ve been through a lot well they were together. They are very different people, Like salai is poor and wants money so bad he would do anything to get it. Leonardo de Vinci is way smarter than salai, He would do anything for knowledge he didn’t care about money. They have been through a lot in this book. They meet some friends like, Beatrice, Isabellea, Il moro, ceilia. And one of them sadly died and her name was Beatrice I give this book a 4 because it was a bit boring in the middle but the rest I loved.

Interesting historically but not the most engaging read. Definitely not one Brooke would find interesting at this point, probably not until she is an adult.

This was a quick read and a little taste of the renaissance. An interesting take but a little bit slow and lacking in plot development for my taste.

This book is a great look at a part of history we rarely get to see in school. It follows Salai, one of DaVinci's servants and apprentices. They meet when Salai is caught attempting to pickpocket one of DaVinci's acquaintances. DaVinci admires Salai’s cleverness and tenacity, eventually taking him on as an apprentice. Although he shows little in the way or artistic talent at first, DaVinci Values Salai for his quick thinking.

The story explores parts of their personal lives as well as some of the more humorous parts of their history. Later on, we meet Beatrice, the fiancée of a merchant named Il Moro. She has a brilliant mind and an integral part of much of DaVinci’s creative process. Later, Il Moro begins to lose interest and affection for Beatrice in favor of another woman, and she is largely ignored by him. When this started to affect her wellbeing, Salai and DaVinci decided to immortalize her in what would later become one of the most well known paintings in the world to show their appreciation for her.

The second Mrs. Giaconda is a great book for anyone with an interest in history or renaissance art, and few books would be a better choice for a reading assignment on the subject. It is enjoyable and informative, and definitely worth a read.

Very enjoyable perspective on how the Mona Lisa was commissioned. This mysterious woman has had much speculation about why DaVinci painted her and Konigsburg did a fantastic job of weaving a tale surrounding a mysterious servant, to whom was left an inheritance after being a known theft of the great artist, and this humble woman that inspired the infamous painting of all time.

Delightful.

Read this to learn more about da Vinci. The title refers to Mona Lisa, but she has almost nothing to do with the story and is only mentioned at the end. The story is really about da Vinci’s servant Salai and his friendship with the Duke’s wife Beatrice. I’m not sure what historical basis this book has, if any. Gives a little insight into da Vinci’s personality, but he’s really a minor character. I didn’t feel like Salai had much character growth either. Just kind of an average book: not good, not terrible. Not going to teach you much about da Vinci or the Mona Lisa if that’s what you’re looking for.

There are very few authors whose books I will seek out, but Konigsburg is near the top of my list. Everything I've read of hers has been slightly different, and certainly far from "traditional" in the YA genre.

Here Konigsburg offers up some "historical fiction" about Leonardo DaVinci. I rather like the way Konigsburg handles this -- while the book seems to be about the painting of the Mona Lisa, it really is about the events leading up to the how and why of the painting. In fact, we don't meet the woman who sits for the portrait until the very last sentance of the book. This makes complete sense to me because it offers explanation (without being exposition) as to how Leonardo captures the smile and the "inner" soul of the model.

The drawback to this, of course, is that there really needs to be an understanding, on the part of the reader, who/what the Mona Lisa is, and why the painting is famous. Without this knowledge, and without, perhaps, some classroom study, the average reader most likely isn't going to understand what the books leads up to and why it ends just as we meet the title character.

Not my favorite Konigsburg book, but I'd still take a less-than-her-best Konigsburg over most other writers any time.

Recommended.