Machiavelli: The Novel

As the author ofThe Prince, Machiavelli’s name has become synonymous with the work of the devil, with the brutal exercise of power, and with immorality. Nothing could be further from the truth. In this richly told historical novel, the life of the much vilified philosopher comes to vivid life The historical Machiavelli is a diabolically clever but mild mannered, conscientious civil servant who struts upon the same stage as heavyweights like Florence’s Medici family, the nefarious and perhaps incestuous Borgias, the artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and the doomed prophet Savonarola.   His is an adventure story replete with violence, treachery, heroism, betrayal, sex, corrupt popes, noble outlaws, deformed kings, menacing Turks, even more menacing Lutherans, unscrupulous astrologers, untrustworthy dentists—and, of course, true love.   Imprisoned, tortured and ultimately abandoned, Machiavelli nevertheless remains the sworn enemy of tyranny and a lifelong champion of freedom and the republican form of government. Idealistic to the point of impracticality, he pays a dear price for his convictions. Out of the cesspool that was Italian Renaissance politics, only one name is still uttered today—that of Niccolo Machiavelli.