The Black Prince of Florence

Nothing in sixteenth century history is more astonishing to our era than the career of Alessandro de’ Medici. His story, told by an exact and fluent historian, challenges our preconceptions. Catherine Fletcher’s eye for the skewering detail makes the citizens of renaissance Florence live again: courtesans and cardinals, artists and assassins

Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall

Astonishing … gripping and original … a compelling portrait

Matthew Lyons, Financial Times

Packed with intrigue … Fletcher describes with cool menace the plotting and politicking that dominated Alessandro’s rule … brought splendidly to life in this excellent book

Dan Jones, Sunday Times

A scintillating book that glisters and gleams with stabbings, poisonings, adultery and intrigue – and a startling reminder of how visceral and dangerous Renaissance Florence was. The drama of events is perfectly complemented by careful scholarship and lucid writing. This is everything a historical biography should be

Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England

In this brilliantly written and impeccably researched biography, Catherine Fletcher brings Renaissance Florence vividly to life. The story of Alessandro de' Medici's brief and bloody ascendancy reveals the darker side of this most dazzling and cultured of cities, beset by intrigue, violence and betrayal. A stunning book.

Tracy Borman, author of Thomas Cromwell: The untold story of Henry VIII's most faithful servant

Bold, breathless and full of suspense

Daisy Dunn, The Times

A seductive, shimmering and significant retelling of a man whose rise to power was ... as unlikely as it was extraordinary

Thomas Penn, Guardian

Engrossing … bursts with stabbings, poisonings, duels, eye-gougings, arquebus shootouts and people being run through with swords. Fletcher’s approach is scholarly yet dramatic, immersed in Renaissance glamour … a tremendous step forward in our knowledge of this intriguing man

Alex von Tunzelmann, Spectator

More than just a forensic reconstruction of the period … Like a detective, Fletcher interrogates her witnesses … But it is among the detailed records of Alessandro’s wardrobe-keepers that she finds her treasure … These lend her narrative a sensuous vividity

Frances Wilson, Sunday Telegraph