Perspectives

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Description

A sparkling, joyful reinvention of the detective novel, seething with art, scandal, murder, intrigue, political scheming, set in Renaissance Florence - from the author of the international bestseller HHhH. Florence, 1557. A murdered painter, a chisel buried in his chest, his body lying in the church he had been working on. At his home, a scandalous painting is discovered depicting Maria de Medici, daughter of the all-powerful Duke and Duchess of Florence, as a naked Venus. Who is the murderer and what is the motive Who is behind the painting And why is this outrageous portrait so useful to the Duke's cousin, Queen Catherine of France, whose machinations threaten him The situation requires discretion, loyalty, political and artistic sensitivity. The great Giorgio Vasari, the Duke's henchman, painter and art historian, is put in charge of the investigation. But Europe is a powder keg; Italy is the battleground where the two great powers of France and Spain clash. Worse still, many in Florence yearn for a moral order that condemns the nudity in the art made by Michelangelo and his followers. The Pope is banning books and branding works of art immoral. The shackles on artistic freedom grow tighter by the day... From the author of the international bestseller HHhH, Perspectives is a dazzling, hugely entertaining novel of court intrigue, murder and art.

Author Bio

Laurent Binet lives and works in France. His first novel, HHhH, was an international bestseller which won the prestigious Prix Goncourt du premier roman, among other prizes. The 7th Function of Language won the Prix de la FNAC and Prix Interallie. Civilisations is a bestseller that has won the Grand Prix de l'Academie fran aise.