From Venice to Paris, via Warsaw, the first episode races from one twist to the next, leaving the reader breathless... Authors like Juliette Benzoni must be blessed by the gods. They know that literature is also, and above all, about telling a story.
 

Returning from captivity in 1918, Aldo Morosini, from ancient Venetian nobility, discovers that his mother has been murdered; that in their palace on the Grand Canal, a historic gem, the Blue Star owned by his mother's family was stolen, and that there is no longer any hope of finding the woman he loves.

However, to avoid the insult to his mother's remains there will be no autopsy for the morbid curiosity of the newspapers. He does not notify the police and decides to find the thieving murderer himself.
Four years later, now an antiquarian, Morosini is invited to join a rather mysterious character : Simon Aronov, a famous collector  in European sale-rooms , although no-one has ever seen him.

It is in Warsaw, after a long journey through the cellars of the ghetto, that the lame and blind Aronov receives Morosini. A highly spiritual Jew, the Hunchback shows his guest a strange museum piece: The breastplate of the High Priest of the Temple of Jerusalem, a gold plate with twelve precious stones embedded, of which four are missing, stolen and scattered over the centuries. A tradition says that Israel will regain its ancestral land if the plate is returned intact.  One of the four missing stones is the sapphire stolen in Venice...


À ceux que j'aime... [To the ones I love...]

►Quote in this book :

Blessed will you be who will read the enigma, Stars above, Stars below: Everything above will appear below. Blessed will you be, you who will read the enigma.
~ Hermès Triségiste ~

(Heureux seras-tu toi qui liras l'éngime, Étoiles au-dessus, étoiles au-dessous: Tout ce qui est au-dessus apparaîtra au dessous. Heureux seras-tu toi qui liras l'éngime. Par Hermès Triségiste)

►French Editions :
The adventures of Aldo Morosini have been published several times by different French publishers - here are a few of them.



The editions by : Pocket 1999, Large print VDB et éd. de la Seine 2001...

 

Autumn 1922... A few months earlier, Prince Morosini - an expert in ancient jewels - was contacted by the mysterious Simon Aronov, nicknamed the "The Hunchback of Warsaw". He entrusted him with a dangerous mission: to find four precious stones stolen during the looting of the Temple of Jerusalem...

The tradition is that, together, they allow the children of Israel to return to their land. After discovering the "Blue Star", the Prince embarked for England where the "Rose of York", a fabulous diamond whose trace had been lost for several centuries. Thus begins a crazy race full of pitfalls.
From the sordid alleys of the East End to the sumptuous mansions of the aristocracy, many of them coveted the precious stone, and his opponents were ready to do anything to cross the Hunchback's plans.


In memory of Jean-François, my late son. I owe him the documentation for this book... and so many happy years...
A la mémoire de Jean-François, mon fils disparu. Je lui dois la documentation de ce livre... et tant d'années heureuses...



Queen Juliette 1995

Extract of an article...
Built from the stones of history, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, her novels require lengthy research. A self-taught historian with a passion for her work, Juliette Benzoni follows the trail of documents with a detective's flair, going to one town or another, in France or elsewhere, rummaging through second-hand booksellers, libraries, museums and archives, studying period maps and old editions of the Baedeker, comparing places and sniffing out traces. His latest novel, Le Boiteux de Varsovie (The Lame of Warsaw), recreates the intertwined streets and atmosphere of London's docks in 1920-1930 with the accuracy of a tailor-made hat. "With the big television programmes, people have become more aware of history. We can't afford to tell them just anything.» 

~ article by Anne-Marie Koenig ~ [ Point de Vue 1995]

►French Editions :
The adventures of Aldo Morosini have been published several times by different French publishers - here are a few of them.



Editions : France Loisirs 1996, Pocket 2001 & éd. de la Seine 2001...
 

Autumn 1923. For the past few months, Aldo Morosini has had no desire to do anything...
But when Simon Aronov, the "the Hunchback of Warsaw" asked him to go to Vienna/Austria and to follow the footsteps of a young woman who owned "Sissi's Opal", he regained his enthusiasm. The Opal is said to be the third of the four stones stolen during a looting of the Temple of Jerusalem... However, tradition has it that, when combined, they allow the children of Israel to return to their land...

This new adventure takes the prince antiquarian to the heart of one of the most beautiful regions of Austria where the ghosts of Mayerling still roam and where elusive characters lurk, determined to stand in his way so that their dark designs may triumph... However, it is not part of their project that "Sissi's Opal" escapes them...

►French Editions :
The adventures of Aldo Morosini have been published several times by different French publishers - here are a few of them



Editions : Large Print VDB, Pocket and Kindle Format...
 

4. L'opale de Sissi 1996 / The Opal of Sissi

A legend that is lost in the mists of time says that the people of Israel will only recover their native land and sovereign rights when the other sacred stones stolen during the looting of the Temple of Jerusalem have been returned to the pectoral of the High Priest on which they were set.
For this mission, Simon Aronov - 'the Hunchback of Warsaw' - chose Aldo Morosini, the famous Venetian antiquarian prince. He has already found three of the precious jewels. But will he succeed in seizing the cabochon ruby of the Spanish queen Jeanne, nicknamed "the Madwoman", the most beautiful but also the most evil of the stones that art lovers and formidable gangsters also covet?


A Michel de Grèce qui sait si bien élargir les horizons (Prince de Grèce et Danemark)

To Michael of Greece, who is so good at broadening horizons ( Prince of Greece and Denmark)

►French Editions :
The adventures of Aldo Morosini have been published several times by different French publishers - here are a few of them.

Editions : Pocket, Ed. de la Seine and Kindle Format...





From Venice to Paris, via Warsaw, the first episode races from one twist to the next, leaving the reader breathless... Authors like Juliette Benzoni must be blessed by the gods. They know that literature is also, and above all, about telling a story.
~ Bertrand Galimard Flavigny (journalist, chronicler at Figaro Littéraire and writer) ~ Les Petites Affiches 1995

Juliette Benzoni Le Rubis de Jeanne la Folle



►After recovering the Blue Star, the Rose of York and Sissi's Opal, Prince Morosini sets off in search of Joan the Mad's Ruby.

Prince Aldo Morosini has already had to work hard to recover the Blue Star, the Rose of York and the Opal of Sissi, three of the four precious stones that were stolen from the breastplate of the High Priest of the Temple of Jerusalem. The jewellery is in the hands of Simon Aronov, the 'lame man of Warsaw' who gave his name to Juliette Benzoni's tetralogy. It is he who, once again, sets Aldo Morosini on the trail of the fourth and final gem, Le Rubis de Jeanne la Folle (The Ruby of Joan the Mad), the most evil of all stones, blood-red in colour.

Our Venetian prince sets off again across Europe, from Seville (the ruby belonged to Joanna the Mad, the mother of Charles V) to Prague and then to Zurich. To complicate his task, he has to face the dangerous Anielka. All the ingredients are there - first and foremost love and adventure, which Juliette Benzoni knows how to handle and spin into a host of incredible twists and turns. We have already seen her at work in several other sagas: La Florentine, Les Treize Vents, Les Loups de Lauzargues, all of which were successful.

~ Biblioteca Magazine Octobre 1996 ~

Interestingly, the magazine article shows a completely different cover to the one that was finally chosen by the publisher. Many thanks to my dear friend Anne (Juliette Benzoni's daughter) for this precious document from 1996.

► The Countess Felicia Morosini (born: Orsini) is the great-aunt of Aldo Morosini - for more details see the synopsis page of  Les loups de Lauzargues → here

►The four covers of the very first editions of Plon feature images by the French painter and engraver Paul Helleu. He is known for his portraits of the famous and most beautiful women of the Belle Époque and for the ceiling paintings he designed for Grand Central Terminal in New York.

►L'Étoile bleu: Portrait of Lucette, in profile (Private collection) DR
►La rose d'York : Portrait of Lucette with the grey hat DR
►L'opale de Sissi : Portrait of Madame Helleu DR
►Le Rubis de Jeanne la Folle : Portrait of Madame Paulin with fan DR




In 1995, France Loisirs was pleased to offer its loyal readers a small treat. Juliette Benzoni wrote a genesis for France Loisirs on the story of Prince Aldo Morosini. Be sure to read the fascinating background story, which I have copied for you on an additional page. more details → here

►The Adventures of Aldo Morosini have been translated into :

Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Czech Rep, Greece, Russia

The foreign books ( if I have been able to find them ! ) can be seen on the main page → HERE. I took the liberty of only putting the first volume, which is called: The Blue Star.

AUDIO Edition Audible 2016

ℳy little ℬijou's...

The blue Star /L'étoile bleue



~ creation © Hélène Rouillé ~

Description of Aldo Morosini in The blue Star

« Grabbing a pair of turtle shell brushes, Aldo set about tidying up his thick black hair, which was already showing A few threads of silver, not really unpleasant next to his matt skin plastered on an arrogant bone structure that would have suited a condottiere. However, he examined himself indulgently: where were his muscles of yesteryear? As for his face, hollowed out by deprivation - people hardly ate in Austria these days! - it gave him more than his thirty-five years. Only his eyes, a steely blue - sometimes turning green in anger, always carefree and easily mocked, were as youthful as his white teeth, occasionally revealing an insolent smile »

To mark the twentieth anniversary 1994 - 2014 of Aldo Morosini's adventures, my friend Hélène surprised us by producing this Artwork. The text is an extract from the first book in the 'Blue Star' series and describes Aldo Morosini's appearance. Everyone has their own idea of what the prince might look like - but she did it well with this effigy. Thank you, dear Hélène.

The Rose of York /La Rose d'York

~ creation © Evelyne Diggelmann-Walther ~

« Prince Morosini, from Venice?... You will have to forgive me, I'm not very familiar with continental customs. What should I call you? Highness, Excellency or » ...

« Nothing of the sort: simply prince, Mister or Sir », said Aldo with a half-smile. « You can be sure that I did not take the liberty of disturbing you to discuss European protocol with you, Monsieur le Superintendent »...


Photos of Jean Piat and the Romancière Juliette Benzoni



~ creation © Frédérique Aznag Zabée ~

You're probably wondering what a photo of the famous French actor Jean Piat (1924 - 2018) is doing here? Please read the author's genesis to know why everything → here

Juliette tells us how the story of Aldo Morosini came about. Only... she doesn't tell us in the 1995 edition of France Loisirs who the man was who wanted her to write a four-part TV series for him... but if we know since 2016, it's thanks to one of those famous coincidences (which Juliette never believed in!) Frédérique and I found after his death, in one of the first books of 'Catherine, il suffit d'un amour I' , a yellowed press clipping dating from 1977...! And that's when Juliette mentioned the project. more details → here