Acclaimed author, Chuck Rosenthal has produced nineteen books, 15 of them novels. He joins Curiosity Invited to speak about his most recent novel, Awaken For Ever in a Sweet Unrest, a fascinating and masterfully told story of Beatriz, a brave nineteen year old a daughter of academics who live a comfortable life in Venice, California. Working as an unpaid volunteer at Beyond Baroque, a “citadel of poetry, of poets,” on Venice Boulevard.
Part bookstore, part art gallery, and completely haunted, Beatriz takes on the task of cataloging all the old books. But from the moment she enters the catacomb and closes the door behind her, she’s drawn into a disorientating world where authors spring to life and the shackles of time break. The first person she encounters is Mary Shelley, of Frankenstein fame, who tells her matter of factly that she must start with Keats. “If you want truth and beauty, follow me,” says Mary Shelley. “If you want knowledge, go back to school.”
Beatriz time travels, first with Keats in Scotland, though the poet is quick to point out that we don’t travel in time, “we travel inside what we are, what we were. No more.” Beatriz finds herself walking across France with Percy Bysshe Shelley and others, on their way to Italy to hook up with Byron and his entourage. More adventures follow for Beatrice and for the reader.
https://chuckrosenthal.com/