Line #29 Literature/TheEnchantressOfFlorence


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enchantress_9918.jpg]]
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3	->''"In the beginning, there were three friends, Niccolò 'il Machia', Agostino Vespucci, and Antonino Argalia."''
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5	''The Enchantress of Florence'' (2008) is the ninth novel of Creator/SalmanRushdie, which mixes historical facts and fantastical elements without shame or mercy. It is mostly seen as a work of MagicRealism, but with quite a dose of fantasy element. Rushdie is particularly proud of the research he's done for the novel's writing, and attached half a dozen pages of references at the end of the book—not bad for a work of fiction.
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7	At the heights of the Mughal Empire of India, a blond traveller with a strange overcoat and, seemingly, magical prowess, came to visit Akbar the Great with a secret only a king may hear. He claimed to be under the protection of the greatest enchantress in the world: the titular enchantres of Florence. Strange things happened along the way.
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9	----
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11	!''The Echantress of Florence'' provides examples of:
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13	* ArtInitiatesLife:
14	** Jodha, the Emperor's favourite queen, was apparently conjured up by him by sheer force of will. This is among the few moments in the story which is hard to interpret in non-magical terms.
15	** Inverted with Dashwant, the imperial artist, who fell so madly in love with Qara Köz that he managed to transform himself into a painting.
16	%% * BadassBoast: Akbar does this daily. The Scottish milord had one, too.
17	%% * BagOfHolding: The traveller's coat.
18	* BigBeautifulWoman: A prostitute in a whorehouse in Sikri, nicknamed "the Matress". People usually hire her along with [[FatAndSkinny her counterpart]], the Skeleton, "to explore the extremes."
19	* BlasphemousBoast: Possibly. The book noted that when he says "Allahu Akbar" (God is great/''akbar'') he could very well mean "Akbar is God."
20	%% * ClusterFBomb: Ago Vespucci, to the point that many people assigned this to him as his defining characteristic.
21	%% * DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler:Simonetta.]]
22	* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Several. Qara Köz and Simonetta to name two.
23	-->"Simonetta possessed a pale, fair beauty so intense that no man could look at her without falling into a state of molten adoration, and nor could any woman."
24	* EverybodyHasLotsOfSex: The reopening of the brotherls after Girolamo Savonarola gets burnt is pretty much an endless orgy in Florence. Mughal India is not far behind either.
25	* FatAndSkinny: The duo of whores frequented by the main character, one being named "Mattress" and the other "Skeleton".
26	FloweryInsults: Oh ''yes''.
27	-->"Why don't you go and masturbate a diseased goat?"
28	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Il Machia met a slave-girl which was transformed by potent hypnosis to be a "memory palace", a kind of exotic hard disk drive. He then attempted to restore the girl to a human state, but when she did, she remembered all the perils of her life and defenestrated herself.
29	%% * HighClassCallGirl: Alessandra Fiorentina and her minions.
30	%% * IHaveManyNames: The main character.
31	%% * ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Countless of [[{{Dracula}} Vlad Dracula]]'s victims, as per history. Also, [[spoiler:Simonetta]].
32	%% * LonelyAtTheTop: Akbar the Great.
33	%% * MagicRealism
34	%% * MindScrew: If you try to figure out what is real and what is not.
35	%% * MysteriousWaif: Many characters.
36	%% * OurVampiresAreDifferent: There are vague references to the bloodsuckers, it's not even clear whether they're actually vampires.
37	%% * ThePhilosopher: Many characters, notably the Emperor and his trusted wise men.
38	%% * PornStache: It was fashionable at the time. Akbar the Great sported a particularly awesome one and was very vain about it.
39	%% * PrecisionFStrike: See SophisticatedAsHell.
40	* RoyalWe: PlayedWith. Akbar thinks of himself as the entirety of his power and uses "we", but toyed with the idea of the "I", which he finds very alien.
41	* SelfMadeOrphan: The emperor knew he must either [[OffingTheOffspring Off The Offsprings]] or they will have their ways.
42	%% * SexIsGood: Possibly everyone in Florence.
43	* ShoutOut: Thee four giants are Otho, Botho, Clotho, and [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers D'Artagnan]].
44	%% * ShownTheirWork: The research Rushdie did for the historical bits.
45	%% * SophisticatedAsHell: It can feel like this at times, usually as a PrecisionFStrike.
46	* TakeThat: Rushdie doesn't have a history of good rapport with religious fundamentalists (''Literature/TheSatanicVerses'' and everything). There is one such character. Not very nice things happened.
47	%% * UpperClassTwit: The royal princes are these at least half the time.
48	* [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Very Loosely Based On True History]]: Do not cite this work for your history assignment!
49	%% * WarriorPoet: Most notably Akbar himself.
50	%% * WholesomeCrossdresser: The king's private spy.
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Context Literature / TheEnchantressOfFlorence