Across the Alps: The Secret Life of Albrecht Dürer (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781514317983)

Standing on a ridge of the Bavarian Alps, artist Albrecht Dürer is torn between responsibility and infatuation. Below him lie Venice and the vibrant woman he just met. Ahead of him is Nuremberg, where he and his wife make their home.

Dürer's wife lacks the allure and spirit of the Venetian woman, but his marriage to her secured him with the artistic workshop he so desperately needs. So, suppressing his desires, a despondent Dürer chooses duty over passion and turns his steps toward home.

So begins Across the Alps, Gail Tanzer's intriguing fictionalization of the life of one of history's great artists. With his wife's support, Dürer manufactures exquisite religious woodcuts, making them into prints and selling them at prices even common people can afford. His success and reputation soar, but Dürer is troubled. He yearns for passion and beauty, two desires that his loyal but cold and homely wife cannot satisfy.

Driven by the need for resolution, Dürer returns to Venice, committed to locating a man forging his work in Venice but mainly to see what he has been missing. What happens in Venice forces Dürer into making a final decision between a great romance and fidelity-a choice that will change the course of his life forever.