The Maiden of Florence
Shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown Award 2025
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Fairlight Books
Published:24th Apr '25
Should be back in stock very soon
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£13.49was £14.99(9781914148507)
Florence, 1584. Rumours are spreading about the virility of a prince marrying into the powerful Medici family. Orphan Giulia is chosen to put an end to the gossip. In return she will keep her life - and start a new one with a dowry and her own husband. Cloistered since childhood and an innocent in a world ruled by men, Giulia reluctantly agrees, only to be drawn under the control of the Medicis' lecherous minister.
Years later, married and with a growing family, Giulia hopes she has finally escaped the legacy of her past. But when a threat arrives from a sinister figure from her youth, she must finally take control of events - and become the author of her own story.
Based on true events and reminiscent of The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell, The Maiden of Florence gives a charismatic voice to a woman cast aside by history.
'In The Maiden of Florence, Katherine Mezzacappa crafts a sensuous and raw story about beauty, sex, sacrifice, and a mother's undying love, a moving delineation of what it means to be a humble pawn of powerful men finding dignity amid the chessboard of Renaissance Italy' -Gina Buonaguro, author of The Virgins of Venice
'Immaculately researched and imagined, rich in period detail and emotionally compelling, The Maiden of Florence is a historical fiction tour de force' -Deborah Swift, author of The Poison Keeper
'A delight to read... Mezzacappa has succeeded in showing the immutable workings of the human heart underlying this unforgettable story' -Elizabeth Mac Donald, author of A Matter of Interpretation
'One of those historical novels that plunges you into a time and place so fully realised, so convincing, that you're left gasping' -Patrick Kincaid, author of The Continuity Girl
ISBN: 9781914148514
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown