Annie Pietri

Carla With the Golden Hands

Seventeen-year-old Carla, who has the gift of healing, travels from Venice to Versailles to save her young cousin who is dangerously ill. She arrives too late, but decides to stay in Versailles. Carla enters into the service of Anne Marie-Louise d’Orléans as a seamstress, but Anne Marie-Louise recognizes Carla’s true gift and asks her to save the life of a wounded prince.

Other courtiers are jealous of Carla’s favoured position and she is accused of witchcraft and imprisoned. Anne Marie- Louise negotiates Carla’s release with King Louis XIV and Carla decides to return to her grandmother in Venice. Before she leaves, she passes on the gift of healing to her brother, Paolo.

CARLA WITH THE GOLDEN HANDS is an atmospheric and fascinating fictional account of life in the decadent court of Louis XIV, seen through the eyes of a young Venetian girl with an extraordinary gift.

Carla With the Golden Hands
Annie Pietri
Hachette Jeunesse
10+ years
262 pp
1 title
Proprietor: Hachette Jeunesse
Rights Available: World English