Join author Rachel Blackmore to celebrate the release of her dizzying and sensual debut novel, Costanza, which brings to life the story of a feminist icon erased from history.

History calls her a Muse. Temptress. Fallen woman.
This is her story.

It’s 1636 and Rome hums with gossip and sin. Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife - until she meets world-famous sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.

Betrayed. Abandoned. Banished. This was meant to be the end of Costanza’s story. But Costanza is no ordinary woman: from the ashes, she will rise…

Rachel will share how she based her novel on the real-life events of Costanza’s love affair, and her subsequent downfall at the hands of one of the world’s best-known artists, and explores how this foreshadows modern-day violence against women.

Hear firsthand how Rachel developed a passion for writing historical fiction about marginalised women to understand contemporary issues through their stories. Make sure not to miss this night of baroque elegance, heady desire, and scandalous sculpture.