A review by slim_oysterhiatus
The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance by Ross King

4.0

By focusing on Vespasiano, an unlikely but immensely successful and influential Florentine bookseller, Ross King tells the tale of the rediscovery of classical works in the renaissance, how humanists reconciled pagan writers with Christian ideals, the whole process of creating manuscripts (searching for exemplars, rating translations, ink recipes, quill maintenance, parchment sourcing, hiring scribes and illuminators, binding, and selling), and the changing role and value of manuscripts following the introduction of print books. Further complicating the story are the precariously balanced politics of southern Europe, conflict with the Muslim world, and the influence of the Pope and tensions within the church.
Non-fiction written in bright, often dryly humorous prose, this manages to be exhaustive but never tedious.