Ever-loyal Maddalena, a diminutive, blue-eyed, black slave, has borne Cosimo de' Medici a son and seen him rise to the position of cardinal. Now, late in life, she finds herself committed to a convent, as part of a scheme to protect the Medici bank from ruin by Cosimo’s sons, by hiding a fortune in gold for Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo, to inherit. But as the months go by, and the gold does not appear, her faith in Cosimo begins to wane, and with it, her confidence in her own worth. Has she been duped? Approaching old age, she finds in the abbess a confessor, which enables her to share her true story and perhaps, at the same time, convince herself that her life has been worthwhile. But the abbess, too, has objectives of her own, and the two of them may not be on the same side. Edward Charles presents us here with the intrigue, glamour, wealth, and deception of fifteenth-century Florence. One woman's devotion forms the foundation upon which the famed Medici bank was built. The largest and most respected financial institution in Europe in it's prime, it came to represent the might of the influential Medici clan, a family of great power, borne of Italy's gold; a family who scaled the very heights of human grandeur but was to suffer through one of the most catastrophic financial crashes of early banking. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

“Takes a novel angle on Cosimo [de Medici]’s rise to power by telling the story of his mistress, the Circassian slave Maddalena . . . an incomparable cast.” —Historical Novel Society Ever-loyal Maddalena, a diminutive, dark-skinned, blue-eyed slave, has borne Cosimo de Medici a son and seen him rise to a position in the Church. Now, late in life, she finds herself committed to a convent, as part of a scheme to prevent Cosimo’s sons from sending the Medici bank into ruin by hiding a fortune in gold for Cosimo’s grandson, Lorenzo, to inherit. But as the months go by, and the gold does not appear, her faith in Cosimo begins to wane and with it, her confidence in her own worth. Has she been duped? Approaching old age, she finds in the abbess a confessor, to whom she can confide her true story and perhaps, at the same time, convince herself that her life has been worthwhile. But the abbess has objectives of her own, and the two of them may not be on the same side. Edward Charles presents an enthralling evocation of fifteenth-century Florence in a novel of intrigue, wealth, deception, and high political drama. The largest and most respected financial institution in Europe in its prime, the Medici bank came to represent the might of a family of great influence and power, who scaled the very heights of human grandeur but were to suffer through one of the most catastrophic financial crashes of early banking as the survival of a dynasty hung in the balance. “A vivid tapestry of Florentine history . . . Imaginatively structured.” —Booklist (starred review)

The Riveting Sequel to The House of Medici: Inheritance of Power. 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. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

"An inventory of the private possessions of Lorenzo il Magnifico de' Medici, head of the ruling Medici family during the apogee of the Florentine Renaissance"--Provided by publisher.

An innovative analysis of the representational strategies that constructed Catherine de’ Medici and sought to explain her behaviour and motivations.

Mining the rich documentary sources housed in Tuscan archives and taking advantage of the breadth and depth of scholarship produced in recent years, the seventeen essays in this Companion to Cosimo I de' Medici provide a fresh and systematic overview of the life and career of the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, with special emphasis on Cosimo I's education and intellectual interests, cultural policies, political vision, institutional reforms, diplomatic relations, religious beliefs, military entrepreneurship, and dynastic concerns. Contributors: Maurizio Arfaioli, Alessio Assonitis, Nicholas Scott Baker, Sheila Barker, Stefano Calonaci, Brendan Dooley, Daniele Edigati, Sheila ffolliott, Catherine Fletcher, Andrea Gáldy, Fernando Loffredo, Piergabriele Mancuso, Jessica Maratsos, Carmen Menchini, Oscar Schiavone, Marcello Simonetta, and Henk Th. van Veen.

It was a dynasty with more wealth, passion, and power than the houses of Windsor, Kennedy, and Rockefeller combined. It shaped all of Europe and controlled politics, scientists, artists, and even popes, for three hundred years. It was the house of Medici, patrons of Botticelli, Michelangelo and Galileo, benefactors who turned Florence into a global power center, and then lost it all. The House of Medici picks up where Barbara Tuchman's Hibbert delves into the lives of the Medici family, whose legacy of increasing self-indulgence and sexual dalliance eventually led to its self-destruction. With twenty-four pages of black-and-white illustrations, this timeless saga is one of Quill's strongest-selling paperbacks.