Love in the time of the Medici — Pnina Shinebourne
ISBN: 9781788648639
£11.99
A story with the magnitude and tragedy of that of Abelard and Héloïse, written in lyrical prose poetry.
When 12 year old Livia, a girl from working class Genoa, is forced into marriage with an older man she detests, she takes the chance of escape offered by a stranger. Her journey leads to Florence, to a world of luxury and a passionate relationship with Don Giovanni de’ Medici, son of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Hostility from the Medicis sees them banned them from public engagements amidst rumours that Livia is a witch who captured Don Giovanni’s soul. To protect Livia they move to Venice and succeed in having Livia’s first marriage annulled, allowing them to marry and have a son.
But the unstoppable power and cruelty of the Medicis knows no bounds., even rewriting history.
Against all odds, the correspondence between Livia and Don Giovanni was recently discovered in the Medici archive. Their letters, intense and passionate, are amongst the most eloquent expression of love and emotions in the Renaissance.
Constructed through fragments from historical sources, letters and imaginary voices, Love in the time of the Medici inhabits the spaces between what is recorded and what is imagined, bringing these extraordinary lovers to life once again.
Author bio
Pnina Shinebourne is the author of Unbridled Messiah, which was longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction 2020 and published by Cinnamon Press. Other publications include Pike in a Carp Pond and A Bird is Fluttering Somewhere in Me, which won second prize in the Essex University International Short Story Prize. She won the Wasafiri New Writing Prize, other work was shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize and the Bridport Prize.