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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
It was nice to get back to my renaissance loving roots with this book.
Too much detail about the convoluted politics of the time, but I appreciated the references to incidents in the Niccolo series, e.g., the sack of Volterra and the recalcitrance of Pope Sixtus.
The politics of the 15th century Italian states was complex, confusing and in a state of constant flux. Trade, envy, dynastic alliances and associated power all had a part to play. Against this backdrop, a plot to murder the Medici brothers was hatched. In attempting to make the complex machinations less confusing, Professor Martines has included a wealth of detail about the setting, the times, and the key players.
In summary, on 26 April 1478 in the cathedral of Florence, a plan to assassinate Lorenzo the Magnificent and his younger brother Guiliano was partially successful. Guiliano was murdered, Lorenzo survived. The core conspirators were members of the family Pazzi and were backed covertly by Pope Sixtus IV.
This book examines the questions surrounding who was involved, why they became involved, the consequences of the partial failure of the plot, as well as what the consequences of successful execution of the plot may have been.
In summary, on 26 April 1478 in the cathedral of Florence, a plan to assassinate Lorenzo the Magnificent and his younger brother Guiliano was partially successful. Guiliano was murdered, Lorenzo survived. The core conspirators were members of the family Pazzi and were backed covertly by Pope Sixtus IV.
This book examines the questions surrounding who was involved, why they became involved, the consequences of the partial failure of the plot, as well as what the consequences of successful execution of the plot may have been.
So, this is book number 2 in my epic quest to learn as much as possible about life in the fifteenth century. (I'm broadening my goals: Italy won't be the only place I research.) If you have any recommendations, please shoot them my way.
"April Blood" is the story about the political climate, and the political fallout, surrounding the attempted double murder of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici that happened on Easter Sunday, 1478. The subject is fascinating because Lorenzo was essentially pulling the strings of Florence's government, despite the fact that Florence was a republic with a constantly shifting group of people in power.
This book falls slightly into the Anti-Medici camp--that is, he paints the Medici in a mostly negative light. (It isn't that hard to do.) "Medici Money" by Tim Parks has a much more even-handed approach to the Medici, and it's nice to see the family from both these points of view. However. . . well, they were douche bags, weren't they? I mean, political intrigue was pretty rampant in the city anyway, but the Medici made it practically a dictatorship.
It's fascinating to see a republic where, to the outsider, everything seems to be fairly equal and unbiased, yet a small group of the wealthiest men are really controlling every decision... whereas here in the US, it's a group of the wealthiest men AND WOMEN. Ah. Progress.
Some sections of this book were fascinating. Martines includes a few letters discussing potential brides. One was written from a mother to her son, and describes the physical appearance of the bride in cruel, excrutiating detail. She then goes on to discuss the significance of the woman's familial ties, and the potential assets she might bring. She then mentions the dowery she expects the bride to come with. All this goes on for several pages. Finally, in the last sentence of the letter, she offhandedly mentions the girl's name.
Much of the political intrigue went a bit over my head since Martines takes it for granted that you have a fair amount of knowledge going into the book. Savonarola, a fire and brimstone priest who was quite an exciting character, is brought into the story without any background or context. He doesn't even mention the guy was a priest and just begins discussing his political dealings. If I hadn't just read Tim Powers's book, I would've had no idea what he was talking about. Unfortunately, much of the time I HADN'T heard of the people, and this made parts of the book carry much less impact than the author intended them to. My eyes glazed over on occasion and I thought about switching to Joe Abercrombie (the other book I was reading at the time).
So, I don't regret choosing this book, although it wasn't as clear or entertaining as "Medici Money." I did like the fact that Martines didn't hide his impression of the Medicis, and I definitely agree with his perspective. I mean, Lorenzo was a money-obsessed banker who also wanted total control of his city and was willing to exile entire family lines to get it.
If you have a little background in Florence during this time period, this is a four-star book. If you don't have any background, though, it's a three, or maybe a two. The subject is fascinating, but the book could've been a lot easier to follow with about 100 pages more detail clarifying the people and the culture.
"April Blood" is the story about the political climate, and the political fallout, surrounding the attempted double murder of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici that happened on Easter Sunday, 1478. The subject is fascinating because Lorenzo was essentially pulling the strings of Florence's government, despite the fact that Florence was a republic with a constantly shifting group of people in power.
This book falls slightly into the Anti-Medici camp--that is, he paints the Medici in a mostly negative light. (It isn't that hard to do.) "Medici Money" by Tim Parks has a much more even-handed approach to the Medici, and it's nice to see the family from both these points of view. However. . . well, they were douche bags, weren't they? I mean, political intrigue was pretty rampant in the city anyway, but the Medici made it practically a dictatorship.
It's fascinating to see a republic where, to the outsider, everything seems to be fairly equal and unbiased, yet a small group of the wealthiest men are really controlling every decision... whereas here in the US, it's a group of the wealthiest men AND WOMEN. Ah. Progress.
Some sections of this book were fascinating. Martines includes a few letters discussing potential brides. One was written from a mother to her son, and describes the physical appearance of the bride in cruel, excrutiating detail. She then goes on to discuss the significance of the woman's familial ties, and the potential assets she might bring. She then mentions the dowery she expects the bride to come with. All this goes on for several pages. Finally, in the last sentence of the letter, she offhandedly mentions the girl's name.
Much of the political intrigue went a bit over my head since Martines takes it for granted that you have a fair amount of knowledge going into the book. Savonarola, a fire and brimstone priest who was quite an exciting character, is brought into the story without any background or context. He doesn't even mention the guy was a priest and just begins discussing his political dealings. If I hadn't just read Tim Powers's book, I would've had no idea what he was talking about. Unfortunately, much of the time I HADN'T heard of the people, and this made parts of the book carry much less impact than the author intended them to. My eyes glazed over on occasion and I thought about switching to Joe Abercrombie (the other book I was reading at the time).
So, I don't regret choosing this book, although it wasn't as clear or entertaining as "Medici Money." I did like the fact that Martines didn't hide his impression of the Medicis, and I definitely agree with his perspective. I mean, Lorenzo was a money-obsessed banker who also wanted total control of his city and was willing to exile entire family lines to get it.
If you have a little background in Florence during this time period, this is a four-star book. If you don't have any background, though, it's a three, or maybe a two. The subject is fascinating, but the book could've been a lot easier to follow with about 100 pages more detail clarifying the people and the culture.