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Beloved Son Felix: Coming of Age in the Renaissance
Not yet published
Expected 3 Mar 26The exceptionally vivid, rare, and revealing journals of a 16th-century medical student.
In 1552, at the age of sixteen, Felix Platter left his home in Basel, Switzerland, and journeyed 370 miles to Montpelier, in the south of France. There he spent the next five years studying to become a physician. It was an extraordinary education—and not only in medicine. A Protestant in a Catholic kingdom, Felix witnessed blood-chilling executions and engaged in secret religious discussions with his landlord, a Marrano Jew. He also learned to play the lute, tasted olive oil for the first time, and had his first swim in the sea. He flirted and danced; he got his spur tangled in a lady's skirt; he fled from highwaymen; he saw John Calvin preach; he survived an outbreak of the bubonic plague; he joined in a massive, orange-throwing food fight; he got a dog; and he spent one Christmas Eve alone and afraid of the dark.
Most astonishing of all, he wrote it all down.
The notes that Felix Platter kept on his day-to-day life are unique in European history. A century before the modern, Western novel was invented, Beloved Son Felix captures the texture of Renaissance life, and a Renaissance youth, from the inside. As Stephen Greenblatt observes in his introduction, “Keeping diaries and writing autobiographies did not become a widespread practice until the mid-seventeenth century. But it is not merely the relative paucity of such documents from earlier periods that makes Platter's journal so unusual. It is its vividness, intimacy, candor, and charm that confer upon it an altogether rare and revealing character.”
In 1552, at the age of sixteen, Felix Platter left his home in Basel, Switzerland, and journeyed 370 miles to Montpelier, in the south of France. There he spent the next five years studying to become a physician. It was an extraordinary education—and not only in medicine. A Protestant in a Catholic kingdom, Felix witnessed blood-chilling executions and engaged in secret religious discussions with his landlord, a Marrano Jew. He also learned to play the lute, tasted olive oil for the first time, and had his first swim in the sea. He flirted and danced; he got his spur tangled in a lady's skirt; he fled from highwaymen; he saw John Calvin preach; he survived an outbreak of the bubonic plague; he joined in a massive, orange-throwing food fight; he got a dog; and he spent one Christmas Eve alone and afraid of the dark.
Most astonishing of all, he wrote it all down.
The notes that Felix Platter kept on his day-to-day life are unique in European history. A century before the modern, Western novel was invented, Beloved Son Felix captures the texture of Renaissance life, and a Renaissance youth, from the inside. As Stephen Greenblatt observes in his introduction, “Keeping diaries and writing autobiographies did not become a widespread practice until the mid-seventeenth century. But it is not merely the relative paucity of such documents from earlier periods that makes Platter's journal so unusual. It is its vividness, intimacy, candor, and charm that confer upon it an altogether rare and revealing character.”
- GenresHistory
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A very curious document. Young Felix, son of a pedagogue in 14th century Basel, is sent to Montpellier, home of one of the leading medical schools in Europe. The journey is arduous, and fraught with danger. The years in Montpellier are arduous, and filled with accounts of capital punishment, both for criminal activities and for heresy. The return to Basel, with his medical degree, is also arduous and perilous. Life was short, brutish, and cruel.
Despite this having been written by Platter in his old age, he seems to have an encyclopedic recall for dates when he sent letters back to his father, which I assume is attributable to the correspondence having been preserved, at least the part of the correspondence which was sent back to Basel.
Despite this having been written by Platter in his old age, he seems to have an encyclopedic recall for dates when he sent letters back to his father, which I assume is attributable to the correspondence having been preserved, at least the part of the correspondence which was sent back to Basel.
October 2, 2025
An amazing book to read. A look into life several thousand years ago through the eyes of a young student away from home and in medical school at the age of 15. It is amazing that these letters to his father have survived, especially considering the fact there was no postal service, he would simply send letters when he could find someone going to his home area. A wonderful first hand look into a life we can only imagine
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews