I am Venus

The year is 1619, and Diego Velázquez is a rising star at an art academy in Seville run by his father-in-law. But even as his young wife builds him a family, the painter yearns for a larger canvas, and soon his ambition lands him at the court of King Philip IV, where he quickly gains prominence, just as Spain is plunged into military defeat and domestic chaos. But as he gains nobility and privilege, Velázquez encounters the sinful decadence that defines the regime. At the heart of this most conservative country, its ruling class breaks every rule that the masses must obey. As he finds himself torn between loyalty to family and the easy seductions of power, Velázquez decides to take on his riskiest painting yet, which could, in a stroke, land him in the claws of the Inquisition. A sweeping story of scandal and passion, and a vivid recreation of a corrupt kingdom on the brink of collapse, I Am Venus is a thrilling novel that brings to life the public and private worlds of Spain’s greatest painter.

Praise for "I Am Venus" Mujica s prose is vigorous and intense, and the story is paradoxically both dark and illuminating. -"Kirkus Reviews" "The exploration of [the characters'] daily lives, with a particular focus on Velzquez s wife and her ladies-in-waiting, paints a picture that is deliciously contradictory to the perfect representation demanded of Velzquez by the royal court. Mujica instantly creates a sensory world for her readers to inhabit."--"Booklist" Praise for "Frida" Vivid . . . "Frida" burns with dramatic urgency. -"The New York Times Book Review" A delicious blend of fiction and biography. . . . A captivating introduction to the life- and death -of Frida Kahlo. -"Grand Rapids Press" The best kind of fictionalized biography: rich, vibrant, and psychologically acute. -"Kirkus Reviews" Praise for "Sister Teresa" Eschewing sacred sentiment for rich, gritty anecdotes, "Sister Teresa," Barbara Mujica s well-researched novel, reimagines famed 16th-century Teresa of Avila as a vibrant and fully fleshed woman not above vanity, deceit, and a little pre-convent hanky-panky. - "Entertainment Weekly" A lively, vivid, and fast-paced story . . . Barbara Mujica is extraordinarily qualified to bring together the ethos of 16th-century Spain with a woman from that era whom no one can ignore, St. Teresa of Avila . . . Mujica [is] a natural storyteller. -"America" Engaging . . . Mujica s fictional narrator, Sister Angelica, steals the show . . . Despite the many ugly historical events, such as the Spanish Inquisition, that figure into the story, it is surprisingly light and entertaining. -"Publishers Weekly"", Praise for "I Am Venus" "Mujica's prose is vigorous and intense, and the story is paradoxically both dark and illuminating." ---"Kirkus Reviews" "The exploration of [the characters'] daily lives, with a particular focus on Velzquez's wife and her ladies-in-waiting, paints a picture that is deliciously contradictory to the perfect representation demanded of Velzquez by the royal court. Mujica...instantly creates a sensory world for her readers to inhabit."--"Booklist" Praise for "Frida" "Vivid . . . "Frida" burns with dramatic urgency." ---"The New York Times Book Review" "A delicious blend of fiction and biography. . . . A captivating introduction to the life---and death---of Frida Kahlo." ---"Grand Rapids Press" "The best kind of fictionalized biography: rich, vibrant, and psychologically acute." ---"Kirkus Reviews" Praise for "Sister Teresa" "Eschewing sacred sentiment for rich, gritty anecdotes, "Sister Teresa," Barbara Mujica's well-researched novel, reimagines famed 16th-century Teresa of Avila as a vibrant and fully fleshed woman not above vanity, deceit, and a little pre-convent hanky-panky." ---"Entertainment Weekly" "A lively, vivid, and fast-paced story . . . Barbara Mujica is extraordinarily qualified to bring together the ethos of 16th-century Spain with a woman from that era whom no one can ignore, St. Teresa of Avila . . . Mujica [is] a natural storyteller." ---"America" "Engaging . . . Mujica's fictional narrator, Sister Angelica, steals the show . . . Despite the many ugly historical events, such as the Spanish Inquisition, that figure into the story, it is surprisingly light and entertaining." ---"Publishers Weekly", Praise for "I Am Venus" "Mujica's prose is vigorous and intense, and the story is paradoxically both dark and illuminating." ---"Kirkus Reviews" "The exploration of [the characters'] daily lives, with a particular focus on Velzquez's wife and her ladies-in-waiting, paints a picture that is deliciously contradictory to the perfect representation demanded of Velzquez by the royal court. Mujica...instantly creates a sensory world for her readers to inhabit."--"Booklist" Praise for "Frida" "Vivid . . . "Frida" burns with dramatic urgency." ---"The New York Times Book Review" "A delicious blend of fiction and biography. . . . A captivating introduction to the life---and death---of Frida Kahlo." ---"Grand Rapids Press" "The best kind of fictionalized biography: rich, vibrant, and psychologically acute." ---"Kirkus Reviews" Praise for "Sister Teresa" "Eschewing sacred sentiment for rich, gritty anecdotes, "Sister Teresa", Barbara Mujica's well-researched novel, reimagines famed 16th-century Teresa of avila as a vibrant and fully fleshed woman not above vanity, deceit, and a little pre-convent hanky-panky." ---"Entertainment Weekly" "A lively, vivid, and fast-paced story . . . Barbara Mujica is extraordinarily qualified to bring together the ethos of 16th-century Spain with a woman from that era whom no one can ignore, St. Teresa of avila . . . Mujica [is] a natural storyteller." ---"America" "Engaging . . . Mujica's fictional narrator, Sister Angelica, steals the show . . . Despite the many ugly historical events, such as the Spanish Inquisition, that figure into the story, it is surprisingly light and entertaining." ---"Publishers Weekly", Praise for "Frida" "Brilliantly crafted, this book resonates with historical and psychological insight. Highly recommended." --"Library Journal" (starred review) "The best kind of fictionalized biography: rich, vibrant, and psychologically acute." --"Kirkus Reviews" "Burns with dramatic urgency." --"The New York Times Book Review"

Bárbara Mujica is a novelist, short story writer, critic, professor of Spanish at Georgetown University, and a contributor to many publications, such as The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. A two-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and winner of the E. L. Doctorow International Fiction Competition, she is the author of the novels The Deaths of Don Bernardo, Frida, and Sister Teresa. In 2012, I Am Venus was a winner of the Maryland Writers’ Association competition in the historical fiction category. Mujica lives in Washington, D.C.