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The House of Medici #2
Seeds of Decline
Lucrezia Tornabuoni, brought up in the Palazzo Medici alongside Cosimo’s children, always expected to marry his charismatic younger son, Giovanni, but now in later life, she finds herself imprisoned in a loveless marriage with the gout-ridden elder son, Piero.
Like Cosimo, she sees the future salvation of the family in the hands of her own son, Lorenzo the Magnificent, but how can she be sure he inherits the mantle before Piero ruins everything?
For years she has groomed her son to be a great prince, and in the process to ignore the Medici Bank – whose wealth has funded the City and Republic of Florence. But now the economy is faltering, the money is running out, the burdens of leadership are becoming more onerous for her son, and she begins to question whether she has led him astray. Her difficulty is that in the closed society of Florence, there is no-one she can confide in.
Then, while on a journey away from the city, she is approached by a young priest, Girolamo Savonarola, recently appointed to a teaching post in Florence and asking for guidance about the workings of Florentine society. In confessing the secrets of her family to this benign outsider, she is able to unburden herself of the various worries that plague her.
But Savonarola may not be the simple monk he appears, his objectives proving troublesome in compatibility with Lucrezia’s as the two characters hurtle towards a thrilling and unexpected ending.
Like Cosimo, she sees the future salvation of the family in the hands of her own son, Lorenzo the Magnificent, but how can she be sure he inherits the mantle before Piero ruins everything?
For years she has groomed her son to be a great prince, and in the process to ignore the Medici Bank – whose wealth has funded the City and Republic of Florence. But now the economy is faltering, the money is running out, the burdens of leadership are becoming more onerous for her son, and she begins to question whether she has led him astray. Her difficulty is that in the closed society of Florence, there is no-one she can confide in.
Then, while on a journey away from the city, she is approached by a young priest, Girolamo Savonarola, recently appointed to a teaching post in Florence and asking for guidance about the workings of Florentine society. In confessing the secrets of her family to this benign outsider, she is able to unburden herself of the various worries that plague her.
But Savonarola may not be the simple monk he appears, his objectives proving troublesome in compatibility with Lucrezia’s as the two characters hurtle towards a thrilling and unexpected ending.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2013
About the author
Edward Charles
33 books13 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Edward Charles was born in South Wales in 1941 and brought up in north London.
He developed his interest in English social and economic history at school, butbelieving it would never find him a job, studied economics and law at the University College of Wales and then took a PhD in corporate finance at (the then formative) Manchester Business School.
After a short period as a lecturer in Business Studies at Liverpool University he began a career in finance and management consulting, before entering the City and international business, working in Europe, the USA and Asia.
His first novel, ‘In the Shadow of Lady Jane’ was published on 6th May 2006 and the sequel, ‘Daughters of the Doge’ was published on 7th May 2007
Dr Charles lives in Devon where he writes, paints, and tends his vineyard.
Edward Charles was born in South Wales in 1941 and brought up in north London.
He developed his interest in English social and economic history at school, butbelieving it would never find him a job, studied economics and law at the University College of Wales and then took a PhD in corporate finance at (the then formative) Manchester Business School.
After a short period as a lecturer in Business Studies at Liverpool University he began a career in finance and management consulting, before entering the City and international business, working in Europe, the USA and Asia.
His first novel, ‘In the Shadow of Lady Jane’ was published on 6th May 2006 and the sequel, ‘Daughters of the Doge’ was published on 7th May 2007
Dr Charles lives in Devon where he writes, paints, and tends his vineyard.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 22, 2016
A slight improvement
This book is somewhat better than the first of the series, the narrative flows more smoothly; however, the setup of the identity of the confessor is too far-reached.
This book is somewhat better than the first of the series, the narrative flows more smoothly; however, the setup of the identity of the confessor is too far-reached.
October 15, 2023
A story of a lady giving her confession and telling her story at the same time.
Read
February 27, 2022yuck boring
December 30, 2022
Dull, boring, torturous, ugh
January 30, 2024
HIstory is decent. Learned even more about the Borgias
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews