Deb Caletti

One Great Lie

*2022 Project Rise, A Feminist Book Project selection

*Booklist Editors’ Choice Selection, 2021

*Kirkus Best Books of 2021

*Amazon’s Best Books of the Month selection

"Printz Honoree Caletti leads her readers through intertwined stories of sexual harassment and misogyny with assurance and a fierce feminism, all while steeping her prose in sensory detail that creates an atmosphere of mystery."

– Booklist (Starred Review)

“Budding writer Charlotte Hodges has a dream: ‘to say something that says something.’ She gets the chance when she spends the summer under the guidance of her idol on his private island in the Venetian Lagoon. Luca Bruni is a kindred spirit: His semiautobiographical writing speaks directly to 18-year-old Charlotte’s personal pain. At first, Bruni is charming and brilliant—as Charlotte always expected. Reality creeps in as his true nature slowly emerges: He’s a middle-aged, arrogant snob hiding serial lechery behind a mask of empty, performative feminism while preying on the young women who attend his sought-after summer program. Charlotte’s dreams crumble when this powerful man who can make or break a writing career sets his sights on her. Third-person–present narration foreshadows the dreadful events to come, giving the story a fairy-tale tone and inspiring readers to absorb every luminous detail as the narrative slows down to describe Venice in gorgeous, flowing prose. Each chapter is prefaced with information about a female poet from the Italian Renaissance who, despite her accomplishments, has been forgotten or is only remembered for her connection to a man. In a subplot, Charlotte investigates one such woman, an ancestor who may have penned a famous poem claimed by her lover as his own. Readers won’t miss the parallels between this woman’s life and what is happening to Charlotte in the present. Most characters are assumed White. A potent story of how one young woman finds the power to write her own story.

-Kirkus (Starred Review)

“Writing is white high school senior Charlotte’s great love, so receiving a scholarship to a summer writing program run by her favorite author, Luca Bruni, is a dream come true. Its location in Venice is another draw: Charlotte’s ancestor, a poet now known only as a paramour of Renaissance poet Tasso, lived there, and Charlotte wants to know more about her. When she arrives, the workshop is equal parts writing heaven and peer competition. Charlotte, who’s a “polite, anxious sort,” has a writer’s strong observational skills—part of her knows that Luca is inappropriate and invasive; the other part wonders when he’ll notice her. Caletti (Girl, Unframed) links past and present via the through line of men taking advantage of women: confining them to convents, stealing their work, and generally abusing power structures. The incisive and sharply written, place-laden book balances its contemporary #MeToo narrative with Charlotte’s passionate investigation of Renaissance Venice gender politics, and though it’s clear from the start that Luca’s “words will shatter you, but so might he,” watching Charlotte connect past and present while searching for some measure of justice is empowering. Chapter heads reference female Renaissance poets remembered in connection with men.”

-Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“…The plot does not build toward a salacious plot twist---it builds toward awareness, and how that new information is received by Charlotte’s family, fellows, teachers, and the literary world that idolizes male geniuses with “complicated” legacies. These writing choices result in a work that is respectful and restrained yet powerful and emotional. While Caletti’s book is certainly not the first to address power, grooming, and gray areas of consent (with an additional layer of economic control), it is an extremely effective and layered look at the topic. The introspective and quiet narrative is beautifully written, with rich sensory details and nuanced explorations of sexuality, artistic motivation, loneliness, and jealousy—including Charlotte’s self-awareness about her own desire for Bruni’s attention. The protagonist’s overarching search in Italy for historical information about her ancestor, a female poet, mirrors her reckoning with Bruni’s legacy—underlining that the lasting impacts of assault and abuse are not only borne by the survivors themselves, but also by future generations who will know nothing of the beautiful and necessary voices of women who were silenced. VERDICT A first purchase for libraries serving teens.”

-School Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Caletti superbly depicts a powerful man accustomed to seduction as a perk of position, and young women (not just Charlotte) taken in by his con job of seeming to find them special and important. The book is also sharply realistic in the casual viciousness of the blowback on Bruni’s accusers and on the limited effect their openness seems to have. Chapter headings introduce Italian women writers eclipsed by history, paralleling Charlotte’s fictional ancestor and her writing’s fate. Readers may find this puts experiences of their own into context, and it will certainly give them insight into the questionable power of celebrity and talent.”

-BCCB

“Sumptuous descriptions bring the cityscape to life as Charlotte basks in both Venice’s haunting beauty and (at least at first) Bruni’s intoxicating presence; on the side, a cute local-history scholar helps her uncover more about Isabella’s fate. Close narration keeps Charlotte’s shifting feelings of wonder, enlightenment, and vulnerability at the forefront; the third-person perspective allows readers to see clearly what Charlotte cannot admit about her teacher’s predatorily flirtatious behavior toward students. The tension breaks when Bruni turns his attention to Charlotte and she must finally face the truth about him. The fallout from his advances shatters her literary fantasies and she quits the program, but a discovery about Isabella’s history draws Charlotte back to Venice—on her own terms—for a quietly triumphant conclusion. Caletti (A Heart in a Body in the World, rev. 11/18; Girl, Unframed, rev. 9/20) weaves the lives of these two striving artists together with an expert hand, with chapter headers profiling dozens of real-life, little-known, subjugated female writers from Isabella’s era, highlighting parallels in women’s—especially female creative artists’—stories throughout history.”

-The Horn Book

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A compelling and atmospheric YA story of romance, mystery, and power about a young woman discovering her strength in lush, sultry Venice—from the Printz Honor–winning author of A Heart in a Body in the World.

When Charlotte wins a scholarship to a writing workshop in Venice with the charismatic and brilliant Luca Bruni, it’s a dream come true. Writing is her passion, she loves Bruni’s books, and going to that romantic and magical sinking city gives her the chance to solve a long-time family mystery about a Venetian poet deep in their lineage, Isabella Di Angelo, who just might be the real author of a very famous poem.

Bruni’s villa on the eerie island of La Calamita is extravagant—lush beyond belief, and the other students are both inspiring and intimidating. Venice itself is beautiful, charming, and seductive, but so is Luca Bruni. As his behavior becomes increasingly unnerving, and as Charlotte begins to unearth the long-lost work of Isabella with the help of sweet, smart Italian Dante, other things begin to rise, too—secrets about the past, and secrets about the present.

As the events of the summer build to a shattering climax, Charlotte will be forced to confront some dark truths about the history of powerful men—and about the determination of creative girls—in this stunning new novel from award-winning author Deb Caletti.

“There’s something she doesn’t know, though. Not yet.
Luca Bruni’s words will shatter you, but so might he.”
The drowned crypt of San Zaccaria

The drowned crypt of San Zaccaria

Interview with Frolic Magazine:

What inspired One Great Lie?

Deb Caletti: One Great Lie is about Charlotte, a young, aspiring writer who wins a spot in a summer writing program in Venice, led by the esteemed and charismatic author, Luca Bruni. While there, she also gets the chance to delve into a long-troubling question about the true author of a very famous poem. The novel was inspired by the whole art-versus-artist debate that caught fire during the MeToo movement, and still continues to blaze. All of my books come from a need to understand my life and the world around me, and One Great Lie gave me the chance to examine my own feelings and the larger issues around female creativity and the history of powerful men that was very much on my mind then. The book is part mystery, and part love story, but wholly and deeply feminist.  

What inspires your writing and do you have any rituals that help you get prepared to craft your stories?

All of my books are inspired by the desire to better understand the experiences and big questions in my own life, as I mentioned. Before I begin to craft a plot, or characters, or setting, or anything else, I ask myself what’s on my mind, what’s compelling/infuriating/intriguing/baffling enough to spend a year exploring. So, my own confusion or passionate feelings about something are what motivate me to write. In preparation, I do a lot of reading on the subjects I’ll be writing about. It’s not research necessarily, not at first, but more just a chance to let ideas knock around and develop. I also do a lot of general reading. There’s nothing more inspiring than great writing, and I always believe that some magic alchemy happens when all of those books unfurl and collide in my mind. As far as daily rituals? Strong coffee and a Walker’s shortbread cookie. 

Which character do you relate to the most in this book and why?

I’m guessing every writer says this, but you have to relate to – and empathize with – every character, I think, in order to create someone who feels real. So, I can identify with Charlotte’s anxiety, fears, and dreams, and to Avni’s fierce determination, and even to a few of Luca Bruni’s moments of ego and insecurity. But, in One Great Lie, I feel most connected to the characters who I didn’t even know were going to be in the book, who found their way in only after one bit of astonishing research led to more and more of it: the feminist writers of five hundred years ago. I had absolutely no idea that women (many of them teens), were writing and publishing bold and controversial feminist works way back in the 1500s. It was an awful and shocking realization, that we are still writing about the same subjects they were back then, and struggling with the same power dynamics, too. But I also found those women incredibly inspiring. I related to them, definitely. They are standing at the beginning of a long history of female writers, and it feels like a great honor to step in line behind them. 

Wax seals and silk letter-locking floss

Wax seals and silk letter-locking floss

“And now there it is – that weird, enchanted place, that shabby, spectacular, flickering stage-set, that unreal and impossible city on a sinking island in a lagoon. It shouts its stories to her as the boat gets closer. Old stories, of plagues, of doges, of young women locked away, of convents and cruelty and rulers and poets. Art against impossible odds. Newer stories, of different sicknesses, and power and cruelty, and art against impossible odds. ”

Location, Location…

La Poveglia, known as “Plague Island” - the real “La Calamita.”

La Poveglia, known as “Plague Island” - the real “La Calamita.”

When you spend a year or more writing a book, and another year preparing in for publication, you want to spend that time “In” a good place - for me, anywhere near water, Italy, an island… VENICE. I love that magical, shabby, extravagant place, a place that no amount of adjectives can do justice. If you’re wondering about ANY of the places, celebrations, or historical facts you’ve read about in ONE GREAT LIE, yes, they are all real and true. Fictional license was taken with La Calamita and its villa, which is actually based on the very real “Plague Island” La Poveglia, which is still home to the original, eerie, abandoned (and very UN-remodeled) ancient hospital and bell tower. Any facts about it, the superstitions, the ground of ash… All true.

Feast your eyes on these lush, enchanting, and sometimes spooky spots…

The old hospital and bell tower of La Poveglia, which was restored via my imagination to become Luca Bruni’s villa. He paid thousands and thousands, but my remodeling was free. :)

The old hospital and bell tower of La Poveglia, which was restored via my imagination to become Luca Bruni’s villa. He paid thousands and thousands, but my remodeling was free. :)

The Alta Acqua Libreria (top row); the Biblioteca Marciana (and various rooms); the doges palace, straight across from the library, all “happening at the dot.” (Bottom left).

The Alta Acqua Libreria (top row); the Biblioteca Marciana (and various rooms); the doges palace, straight across from the library, all “happening at the dot.” (Bottom left).

San Zaccaria with the old convent; the drowned crypt where the doges are buried; San Zaccaria with a procession of doges

San Zaccaria with the old convent; the drowned crypt where the doges are buried; San Zaccaria with a procession of doges

“‘Look at you, Bella. Don’t be afraid. It is a disaster, but it is the same disaster that it’s been for years.’”

So much RESEARCH…

In the nearly twenty-five books I’ve written, I’ve never done more (and more fascinating) research than I did for ONE GREAT LIE. I loved every minute of it. When I looked back at all of my saved sites that I used, I had HUNDREDS of tabs. I learned about:

A will in 1500’s Venice; manuscript preservation after a flood; Italian church modesty requirements; a plague doctor; a ducat in 1500’s Venice; Renaissance letter writing

A will in 1500’s Venice; manuscript preservation after a flood; Italian church modesty requirements; a plague doctor; a ducat in 1500’s Venice; Renaissance letter writing

The history of Venice * The horrifying things that happened on La Poveglia * The various plagues * Plague doctors * Convents in the Renaissance * Love, marriage, and courting rituals in Renaissance Italy * What a ducat was, and how many a father paid for his daughter to be married or locked away * Italian education (including the prestige of Liceo Classico) * How to get a Master’s Degree in Conservation Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage at Ca’ Foscare University * Book and manuscript preservation after a flood * The history of flooding in Venice * Italian slang * Italian superstitions * Much incredible Italian food * Vivaldi and his female students * Printer’s marks and typography in the Renaissance * Female friendships in the Renaissance * Newly discovered documents of the Renaissance, including the earliest map of Venice * The history of signet rings * Venice’s aqua alta, including warning signals * Letter writing in the renaissance, including folds, silk floss, wax, and other sealing methods * Italian street signs * How to get around the Biblioteca Marciana * Petrarch, his library, Laura, and stalking * Record keeping in the Renaissance, including the Necrologi and manners of death * Various, little-known places to visit near or in Venice * Names during the Renaissance, and their various complications for daughters * Casanova, and his convent visits * Pregnant nuns during the Renaissance * Trumpet-playing nuns during the Renaissance * All about courtesans * The origins of high heels * The origins of the word “quarantine” * Female sexuality in the Renaissance * How to make a will in the 1500’s * The huge role of young Renaissance nuns in the art, sculpture, and writing of the time * Renaissance feminism * Renaissance misogyny, and contemporary misogyny * The role of powerful male Renaissance writers in the lives of female Renaissance writers * MANY, MANY unknown and long forgotten female poets * Much, much more, helpful only if I am one day a contestant on Jeopardy.

…And speaking of those incredible, inspirational feminist female poets and writers, confined for life behind walls or expectations, but who still fought to SPEAK… I learned so much from you, and I am in AWE. Here are a few of the forty-five forgotten or nearly forgotten, brave, feminist writers in the book: Veronica Franco, Veronica Gambara, Isabella Morro, Vittoria Colonna , Arcangela Tarabotti, and Tullia d’Aragona.

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“Charlotte tries to ignore the weird howl of wind at night on La Calamita, and the insistent bashing, bashing of waves, and the unnerving ashy earth underneath her, and she reads about girls as young as nine years old, three years younger than Ella even. Girls, locked away for the rest of their lives, betrayed by their families, miserable. Girls who decided to have fun anyway, with all-night parties and concerts and visitors, sneaking out to meet men, men coming inside to meet them. And girls who did something else in those convents, something that saved their lives and gave it meaning, something that proved that a voice has an unstoppable will: Girls who made art. ”
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