Matteo Strukul Book order

The third instalment in a prize-winning series charting the rise of the House of Medici as they become Masters of Florence and progenitors of the Renaissance.Fontainebleau, 1536. Francis II, Dauphin and heir to the French throne, is dead. Poisoned. And the royal court believe Catherine de' Medici to be the murderer. Catherine's husband Henry will now be the next King of France - and the Medici are known to stop at nothing in the pursuit of power.But not yet queen and without an heir of her own, seventeen-year-old Catherine cannot be sure of securing her family's legacy. To ensure the conception of an heir, she will need to seek help from an unexpected ally: Nostradamus, the reclusive astronomer and purported seer. Dismissed by most as a charlatan and a heretic, Catherine knows he will be her only hope in becoming a mother to the future king.Amid court intrigues, betrayals, and humiliations, Catherine waits. She awaits the death of her father-in-law, King Francis, and the birth of a son to carry her name. For once she is queen, Catherine de' Medici's power will only grow.But that power comes at a heavy cost, one she might ever regret.'Strukul has a brilliant style and a rare imagination' Tim Willocks 'Matteo Strukul has arrived with a bang. His historical saga, Medici, is a worldwide success' Il Venerdì

Winner of the Premio Bancarella, 2017 The second installment in a prize-winning series charting the rise of the House of Medici as they become Masters of Florence and progenitors of the Renaissance. Florence, 1469. The Medici family is preparing for the marriage of its son and heir Lorenzo. His heart belongs to another, but this union will strengthen the alliance with a powerful Roman family. Torn between love and power, the bounties and the compromises of governing, Lorenzo has become complacent. He has forgotten the bloody path he forged on his ascent to power, and the enemies left in his wake. When the family's historical enemies and shadowy new conspirators put their bloody plot into action, the consequences will be terrible. In order to protect their supremacy, the Medici will enact a violent vengeance from which few will be spared.

Shrewd bankers, astute politicians, godfathers of the Renaissance, glittering dukes... how history remembers Florence's most notorious family. But the Medici and their bloody path to power was built on murder, intrigue and conspiracies that stretched across three centuries. Florence, 1429. Giovanni de Medici, the family patriarch, has been poisoned. In their quest for political power, the Medici have made bitter enemies in every corner of the republic. And now Giovanni's sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo, have become the hereditary dukes of a city where loyalty can always be bought. While Lorenzo hunts for their father's killer, Cosimo petitions their remaining allies as Italy heads towards civil war. But the Medici will need more than alliances to survive, otherwise their beloved Florence - and their dynasty - will drown in blood...