The Viper of Milan depicts 14th century Italy as a place of danger and fractious warfare, as disparate groups of nobles fought to achieve and maintain supremacy. A novel steeped in darkness and conflict, we are plunged into the rivalries which rend the province of Lombardy in the early Renaissance. That the reader be immersed, Marjorie Bowen researched the period extensively, noting the rise of the Visconti family who would dominate Milan for decades. Although this novel is not historically accurate, its general depiction of Italian society and nobility of the time - of its priorities, cruelties and caprices - is founded in factual incidents. Marjorie Bowen specialized in historical romances, publishing over a hundred fictional works set in a variety of time periods and locales, together with several biographies of famous figures of yore. Often they contain a romantic element, alongside a gothic or dark aspect; such idiosyncrasy made Bowen a favorite of authors such as Graham Greene. The Viper of Milan, which appeared in 1906, is her earliest published work, the warm reception spurring the young author to further writing.

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Excerpt from The Viper of Milan: A Romance of Lombardy IT is a day in early summer, as beautiful as such days were in the Southern lands of 500 years ago. It is Italy steeped in golden sunlight which lies like a haze over the spreading View the year 1360, when cities were beautiful and nature all-pervading. Here is Lombardy, spread like a garden in the hollow of the hills, ringed about with the purple Apennines, covered with flowers, white, yellow, purple, and pink. This wide road, one of the finest in Italy, winds from Milan to Brescia, its whole length through chestnut woods and plains covered with flowering myrtle. Primroses in great clusters border its sides, and from the midst of their delicate blooms Spring the slender stems of poplar trees; these are red-gold, bursting into bloom against a tender sky tufts of young green; clumps of wild Violets. But for all its unspoiled beauty, the road was one of common use, for Milan was within hail. Villas, the summer dwellings of its wealthy peers, stood back among the trees, surrounded by magnificent grounds. Behind them beautiful Open country Spread into the blue distance, fragrant and glorious with budding trees. And cold and magnificent the great city itself, with its huge walls and gates, crowned and emphasised the landscape's beauty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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