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Machiavelli: A Renaissance Life
Discover the real Machiavelli through this nonfiction novel based on the life of the man whose name has, perhaps wrongly, become synonymous with immoral abuse of power.This epic piece of storytelling brings the world of 15th-century Italy to life as it traces Machiavelli's rise from young boy to controversial political thinker.
The much-vilified Renaissance politico, and author of The Prince, comes to life as a diabolically clever, yet mild mannered and conscientious civil servant in this nonfiction novel. Author Joseph Markulin presents Machiavelli's life as a true adventure story, replete with violence, treachery, heroism, betrayal, sex, bad popes--and, of course, forbidden love.
While sharing the same stage as Florence's Medici family, the nefarious and perhaps incestuous Borgias, the artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and the doomed prophet Savonarola, Machiavelli is imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately abandoned. Nevertheless, he remains the sworn enemy of tyranny and a tireless champion of freedom and the republican form of government.
Out of the cesspool that was Florentine Renaissance politics, only one name is still uttered today--that of Niccolò Machiavelli. This mesmerizing, vividly told story will show you why his fame endures.
The much-vilified Renaissance politico, and author of The Prince, comes to life as a diabolically clever, yet mild mannered and conscientious civil servant in this nonfiction novel. Author Joseph Markulin presents Machiavelli's life as a true adventure story, replete with violence, treachery, heroism, betrayal, sex, bad popes--and, of course, forbidden love.
While sharing the same stage as Florence's Medici family, the nefarious and perhaps incestuous Borgias, the artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and the doomed prophet Savonarola, Machiavelli is imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately abandoned. Nevertheless, he remains the sworn enemy of tyranny and a tireless champion of freedom and the republican form of government.
Out of the cesspool that was Florentine Renaissance politics, only one name is still uttered today--that of Niccolò Machiavelli. This mesmerizing, vividly told story will show you why his fame endures.
720 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 10, 2022
4,25 stars - English Ebook
This epic piece of storytelling brings the world of fifteenth-century Italy to life as it traces Machiavelli's rise from young boy to controversial political thinker.
The often-vilified Renaissance politico and author ofThe Prince comes to life as a diabolically clever, yet mild mannered and conscientious civil.
Machiavelli's life as a true adventure story, replete with violence, treachery, heroism, betrayal, sex, bad popes, noble outlaws, deformed kings, menacing Turks, even more menacing Lutherans, unscrupulous astrologers, untrustworthy dentists-and, of course, forbidden love.
While sharing the stage with Florence's Medici family, the nefarious and perhaps incestuous Borgias, the artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and the doomed prophet Savonarola, Machiavelli is imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately abandoned.
Nevertheless, he remains the sworn enemy of tyranny and a tireless champion of freedom and the republican form of government.
This is what historical fiction ought to be be.This is a remarkable book. If nothing else, it will make you think twice about deploying the term "Machiavellian."
the wisdom about Machiavelli turned on its head, delivering a nuanced portrait of Machiavelli that begins with a marvelous rendering of his childhood and adolescence. What forces fashioned the controversial figure and made him the man he was.
And along the way it gives us a rollicking tale of adventure, replete with bawdy subplots and political intrigues.
I kept vowing to put the book aside but found myself glued to its pages, drawn in by the story and the superbly drawn characters, from the Medicis to the fascinating Savonarola.
But it is the texture of daily life that is perhaps the greatest strength of this book and sets it apart from others of its likes.
We learn what Machiavelli ate and wore, where he lived and on how much money, what he studied formally and what he learned on the streets: what Renaissance Florence looked like, sounded like, and even smelled like.
An story about a man who has fascinated the world for centuries, beautifully told.
This epic piece of storytelling brings the world of fifteenth-century Italy to life as it traces Machiavelli's rise from young boy to controversial political thinker.
The often-vilified Renaissance politico and author ofThe Prince comes to life as a diabolically clever, yet mild mannered and conscientious civil.
Machiavelli's life as a true adventure story, replete with violence, treachery, heroism, betrayal, sex, bad popes, noble outlaws, deformed kings, menacing Turks, even more menacing Lutherans, unscrupulous astrologers, untrustworthy dentists-and, of course, forbidden love.
While sharing the stage with Florence's Medici family, the nefarious and perhaps incestuous Borgias, the artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and the doomed prophet Savonarola, Machiavelli is imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately abandoned.
Nevertheless, he remains the sworn enemy of tyranny and a tireless champion of freedom and the republican form of government.
This is what historical fiction ought to be be.This is a remarkable book. If nothing else, it will make you think twice about deploying the term "Machiavellian."
the wisdom about Machiavelli turned on its head, delivering a nuanced portrait of Machiavelli that begins with a marvelous rendering of his childhood and adolescence. What forces fashioned the controversial figure and made him the man he was.
And along the way it gives us a rollicking tale of adventure, replete with bawdy subplots and political intrigues.
I kept vowing to put the book aside but found myself glued to its pages, drawn in by the story and the superbly drawn characters, from the Medicis to the fascinating Savonarola.
But it is the texture of daily life that is perhaps the greatest strength of this book and sets it apart from others of its likes.
We learn what Machiavelli ate and wore, where he lived and on how much money, what he studied formally and what he learned on the streets: what Renaissance Florence looked like, sounded like, and even smelled like.
An story about a man who has fascinated the world for centuries, beautifully told.
January 21, 2020
This book was everything I hoped for and more besides. It gave me the life of this fascinating man but placed it in all that was happening in the world around him (Borgias, Medici, kings of France) while also telling a personal narrative of a moving yet exciting life. (strange for a man who was mostly a clerk or envoy). The writing was a joy to read and I stormed through what originally appeared a daunting book of some 700+ pages. How I wish there was more!
May 22, 2020
This is a BIG book; it’s more like two books put together as one. It sat on my shelf for a long time because I found it so intimidating. But I will say, when I finally started it, I was caught up in a lively, interesting story. As you might expect, the book began in Niccolo Machiavelli’s youth and ended with his death. Whew. He lived in an interesting time and I knew very little about him; if this book is any indication, what I knew was wrong. I thought he wrote “The Prince” using Cesare Borgia as a role model, but apparently not. (I haven’t read “The Prince” yet, but it’s worked its way up my reading list!). The Machiavelli of this book didn’t admire Cesare, except that he gave him grudging credit for all he achieved. But since Borgia’s intent was to crush Florence—or at least conquer it—he was more of a threat than a paragon, and someone to be watched with trepidation. But Borgia was only part of the story. We learn about Fra Girolamo Savonarola, the war between Florence and Pisa, a dizzying array of Medicis, as well as the stress between Florence as a republic and its subjugation under the Medici. I learned a lot, and at times the author put on his historian’s hat and gave us some important background (which I liked) before getting back to the story.
It wasn’t until he reached the age of thirty that Machiavelli began his career in the government; he was a secretary in the Chancery, a diplomat and ambassador, holding a position of confidence and importance, attached to foreign leaders like Borgia. When the Medici took over, he was degraded, then imprisoned, then worse. But that’s much later in the book. Along the way he made many friends and many enemies, and fell in love with Guiditta, a Jewish girl who slipped in and out of his life through no fault of her own (or his). It’s a violent time, and when cities fall to invaders, people get murdered right and left, and nothing is sacred, no wonder lovers get separated—especially lovers of different faiths.
“The days after Don Micheletto’s assassination were anxious days for Niccolo. Since Guiditta left for Rome, he had received only one brief, coded, communication from Michelozzi—‘Everything under control.’ And then silence.
A week passed. Ten days. She promised she would come back. With Don Micheletto dead, the veil of evil had been lifted from Florence, and city absolved of her guilt. The real culprit had been made to pay for his crimes. Giuditta could come back now. But in the back of his mind, other arguments echoed, her other objections sounded: ‘What kind of a life do I have here? I’m not a woman like other Florentine women. I’m an outsider…’”
I believe Guiditta is a made-up character, and an inordinate amount of energy is devoted to her relationship with Niccolo. However, she does serve to link many events in the story that might otherwise have been difficult to explain. There are a lot of people to keep track of and numerous episodes, and Guiditta helps break things up, so to speak, as well as give motivations to characters’ actions. After all, she has enemies, too. Niccolo is very kind to her, and she serves as a lifeline through his difficult times. My take-away is that Machiavelli does not necessarily deserve to be thought of as Machiavellian; he is hardworking, honest, and loyal to Florence. Perhaps his epithet is more appropriately applied to the times he lived in rather than himself. He has many ups and downs and manages to recover his influence at the end of his life, but by then he is a spent force and so was I. I had to plough through the last fifty pages or so, and was quite relieved when it was over. But I’m glad I read it, which is always a good thing.
It wasn’t until he reached the age of thirty that Machiavelli began his career in the government; he was a secretary in the Chancery, a diplomat and ambassador, holding a position of confidence and importance, attached to foreign leaders like Borgia. When the Medici took over, he was degraded, then imprisoned, then worse. But that’s much later in the book. Along the way he made many friends and many enemies, and fell in love with Guiditta, a Jewish girl who slipped in and out of his life through no fault of her own (or his). It’s a violent time, and when cities fall to invaders, people get murdered right and left, and nothing is sacred, no wonder lovers get separated—especially lovers of different faiths.
“The days after Don Micheletto’s assassination were anxious days for Niccolo. Since Guiditta left for Rome, he had received only one brief, coded, communication from Michelozzi—‘Everything under control.’ And then silence.
A week passed. Ten days. She promised she would come back. With Don Micheletto dead, the veil of evil had been lifted from Florence, and city absolved of her guilt. The real culprit had been made to pay for his crimes. Giuditta could come back now. But in the back of his mind, other arguments echoed, her other objections sounded: ‘What kind of a life do I have here? I’m not a woman like other Florentine women. I’m an outsider…’”
I believe Guiditta is a made-up character, and an inordinate amount of energy is devoted to her relationship with Niccolo. However, she does serve to link many events in the story that might otherwise have been difficult to explain. There are a lot of people to keep track of and numerous episodes, and Guiditta helps break things up, so to speak, as well as give motivations to characters’ actions. After all, she has enemies, too. Niccolo is very kind to her, and she serves as a lifeline through his difficult times. My take-away is that Machiavelli does not necessarily deserve to be thought of as Machiavellian; he is hardworking, honest, and loyal to Florence. Perhaps his epithet is more appropriately applied to the times he lived in rather than himself. He has many ups and downs and manages to recover his influence at the end of his life, but by then he is a spent force and so was I. I had to plough through the last fifty pages or so, and was quite relieved when it was over. But I’m glad I read it, which is always a good thing.
May 17, 2014
i read it like a novel, not as a critic to Niccolo's political view. amazing feeling of 15th century, especially if the reader has not much knowledge about the Italy that time, like myself.
must note that i enjoyed the language ( read Turkish translation ) very much!
next is to re-read The Prince, may be i understand it a bit more this time.
must note that i enjoyed the language ( read Turkish translation ) very much!
next is to re-read The Prince, may be i understand it a bit more this time.
July 7, 2022
This was a good read, with some well-crafted scenes. It grafts an entirely fictional love story onto Machiavelli's life, and puts him in closer contact with some famous people of the era than he probably was. But it also captures very well the life and times of the man, bringing that era vividly to life. Religious fanaticism. Ignorance. Torture by government. The ravages of disease in an era without real medicine or healthcare. The emerging republican form of government. The challenges of making it work in an era of corruption and conflict.
You also get a great sense of how shaped NM was by his reverence for the Roman Republic.
The portrait of the papacy is stunning in its mendacity, greed, and lust for power.
I would say that the book is spoiled somewhat by the merging of fact and fiction in a way that satisfies neither entirely. The arc of a life, honestly told, rarely matches the dramatic sweep of a novel. This is a novel about a real person. The end is not poetic, but more pathetic. Whereas a real work of history could meditate on what Machiavelli meant for the eventual unification of Italy, or for Western thought generally, this ending makes a feeble attempt to link his death to the grand sweep of the democratic republican movement he helped spark and interpret.
The book also makes a strong effort to rescue NM from the impression that he was...Machiavellian. However, once again, the mix between fact and fiction makes this largely fail. A traditional biography would have explored quotes from The Prince, and put them in the context of his life. Here, we learn almost nothing directly about The Prince...which is a shame.
I think of other historical fiction I've read, such as the marvelous When Nietzsche Wept, and this doesn't achieve that, I think because of an odd hesitation to truly imagine how NM would behave. The author goes both too far and not far enough in his daring. He boldly gives NM a Jewish mistress for most of his adult life, and his love for her is second only to his love of republicanism. But he hesitates to give us more of NM's inner thoughts on politics and governance? In When Nietzsche Wept, the author deploys Nietzsche ideas more deftly into a fictional story.
Still, it was a good read, and I enjoyed the journey, and learned much.
You also get a great sense of how shaped NM was by his reverence for the Roman Republic.
The portrait of the papacy is stunning in its mendacity, greed, and lust for power.
I would say that the book is spoiled somewhat by the merging of fact and fiction in a way that satisfies neither entirely. The arc of a life, honestly told, rarely matches the dramatic sweep of a novel. This is a novel about a real person. The end is not poetic, but more pathetic. Whereas a real work of history could meditate on what Machiavelli meant for the eventual unification of Italy, or for Western thought generally, this ending makes a feeble attempt to link his death to the grand sweep of the democratic republican movement he helped spark and interpret.
The book also makes a strong effort to rescue NM from the impression that he was...Machiavellian. However, once again, the mix between fact and fiction makes this largely fail. A traditional biography would have explored quotes from The Prince, and put them in the context of his life. Here, we learn almost nothing directly about The Prince...which is a shame.
I think of other historical fiction I've read, such as the marvelous When Nietzsche Wept, and this doesn't achieve that, I think because of an odd hesitation to truly imagine how NM would behave. The author goes both too far and not far enough in his daring. He boldly gives NM a Jewish mistress for most of his adult life, and his love for her is second only to his love of republicanism. But he hesitates to give us more of NM's inner thoughts on politics and governance? In When Nietzsche Wept, the author deploys Nietzsche ideas more deftly into a fictional story.
Still, it was a good read, and I enjoyed the journey, and learned much.
February 15, 2020
Reads like a T.V. show.
October 16, 2013
This is not a serious history book, it reads like a novel. But for the sheer pleasure reading it gave me, I have to award it five stars.
July 30, 2015
Ay çok sıkıldım.
June 5, 2016
Although, not a real biography but a storytelling, it was a very enjoyable read and it did stick to the historical facts ...
July 5, 2017
Got half way through this and couldn't finish it - the moment Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza slept together just ended it for me. A shame, as it's not badly written.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews