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I was falling a little behind in my reading, but I've had a chance to catch up in the last couple of days, and I have to say, I've really been sucked in by the last part of Book Two, and what I've read of Book Three. Dorothea's reactions to Rome were so beautifully put-- I remember my astonishment there at the vibrant, crazy jumble of the ancient and modern (the difference being that I loved it). I was also fascinated by the discussions about painting, but I felt it was a little off topic, so I wrote a long post about that on my own site. If you care to read it, it's at Mad Mutter.

I'm also struck at how perfunctory and businesslike the decision to marry was. I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that these unions were often about financial support for one party or the other, and it also occurs to me that if you can't have sex before marriage (at least if you're a woman) you're a lot more likely to speed up the whole process. I don't think I'm supposed to talk about Book Three yet, so I won't say any more.