The Zorzi Affair: A Novel of Galileo's Italy

When Zaneta Lucia Zorzi vanished, it was the scandal of the century. The seventeenth century.

The daughter of a Venetian patrician isn’t supposed to love science. But Zaneta Lucia secretly reads astronomy books while her mother pushes etiquette lessons. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Zaneta Lucia faces a choice: the marriage arranged by her parents, or a life devoted to learning.

Disguised as a boy, Zaneta Lucia runs away to Padua and enrolls at the university. Her clever friend Paolo introduces her to a rising star named Galileo. Zaneta Lucia’s new life seems perfect—but it can’t last forever. Her secret is dangerous, and an instrument maker, an Inquisitor, and a bounty hunter all threaten to expose her.

Can Zaneta Lucia write her own destiny?

This coming-of-age story, set in seventeenth-century Italy, combines historical fiction with a hint of romance.