My debut novel, The Rose of Ravenna, is officially published! And you get the first exclusive look – and early access to purchase early through the Press – here in this post!

Wow. Three years exactly from writing the first few words, to being published and out in the world, The Rose of Ravenna is finally complete. She is here, and she is available for any and all to purchase and *hopefully* enjoy!

I had the absolute privilege of working with the curators of Musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers in Paris, France, and the photographers of the Louvre for the use of this 1819 oil on canvas painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres for the cover. Merci beaucoup!

The Back of the Book

A forbidden love for the ages. A betrayal that echoes throughout history. Those who bore witness are ready to tell their story.

Ravenna, Italy, 1275. Beautiful Francesca da Polenta starts every morning with a sweet nectarine from the grove outside the castle she grew up in. Raised by her father, Guido, Lord of Ravenna, her mother, Sofia, and the lush flora of the castle grounds who have come to care for her as one of their own, Francesca’s life seems an idyllic dream.

However, conflict looms as the Guelph-Ghibelline war bleeds the land dry. In this game of competing powers, marriage is a strategic move, and Francesca is but a pawn. In an effort to solidify a powerful alliance, Guido marries her off to one of the four troubled sons of the despotic Rimini magistrate, Malatesta da Verucchio. Francesca is initially dismayed, but soon after she meets sensitive, handsome, green-eyed Paolo, she finds her heart is no longer her own.

Once Francesca arrives in Rimini, however, things take a turn for the worse. Obsession, jealousy, and lust wreak havoc on the Malatesta household, and Francesca is soon caught between fate and her own desires as she is swept up in the dark undercurrents of power and greed. Ever hidden in plain sight are the narrators of Francesca’s story—the botanical cohort who have interests and motivations all their own.

In the tradition of Dante Alighieri, Veronica Guido’s fictionalized account of these historical figures gives their story a fresh perspective, shedding new light on a familiar tale of tragedy and woe.

The Inspiration

Dante’s The Divine Comedy is over 700 years old, and continues to be beloved and studied by people all over the world, myself included. I first read Dante in my undergrad, a second-year Humanities course focused on true classics: Homer, Dante, Ovid. Immediately, I fell in love.

Flash forward many years later, and I was in Florence, the birthplace of Dante, walking the same streets he did. In parts of Florence, Dante’s face is everywhere. He is incredibly honoured and loved there, his motif adorning shops and lamp posts. It made me want ot revisit his most famous work: The Divine Comedy.

At the same time, one of my favourite artists, Hozier, was creating his Unreal Unearth album, where he too was revisiting Dante and the various levels of Hell. As I was piecing together my first musings of who Francesca da Rimini was to me, Hozier released this album, his song Francesca exploring her affair with Paolo Malatesta from his point of view.

The rest is somewhat history: I began to write, and write, and write what would become The Rose of Ravenna. The story of Francesca and Paolo, and those in their orbit, their tragedy, hubris, and downfall told through the eyes of the plants around them. Wisteria, in her purple tendrils. Jasmine, in her musky petals. Nettarina, the overbearing nectarine grove. Edera, the 5-node Ivy with her snake eyes. These unassuming parts of nature see, hear, and feel everything that happens around them. They have their own friendships, their own grudges, likes and dislikes, loves and hates. While Dante never asked the flowers and trees what they saw transpire in the Malatesta home, I did. And what a tale they had to tell.

The Rose of Ravenna is now available for early purchase directly through the Press here. Purchase through common book sellers, such as Indigo, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, will be available late Spring 2026 (just a few weeks away!)

Your support through the purchase of my debut novel means everything. Follow me on Instagram @veronicasmuses and let me know how you liked it! Tag me in your posts, and help share The Rose of Ravenna with the world xx

Veronica Guido is a lawyer by day who, inspired by her great-grandmother, has always felt called to write. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science, through which she studied Greco-Roman philosophers and became interested in the works of writers such as Dante, Ovid, and Homer. From there, Veronica developed a special interest in her ancestral Italian culture, history, and literature, which she combined with concepts from her Indigenous heritage to create The Rose of Ravenna, her first novel.

Veronica lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with her husband, Bilal, and her cat, Inde. She can be found at http://www.veronicaguidowriter.com or on social media @veronicasmuses.