Perspective(s)
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Florence, New Year’s Day 1557. As dawn breaks, a painter is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart.
Above him, the paintings he laboured over for more than a decade. At his home, a hidden painting scandalously depicting Maria de Medici, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Florence, as a naked Venus. Who is the murderer? Who is behind the painting? As the city erupts in chaos, Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation.
Letters fly back and forth carrying news of political plots and speculation about the killer’s identity – between Maria and her aunt Catherine de’ Medici.
Original title in French Perspective(s) published by Grasset (2023)
ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Sam
Taylor
Sam Taylor is a novelist and literary translator. His five novels have reached an international audience, and his award-winning translations include works by Laurent Binet, Leïla Slimani and Marcel Proust. Born in England, Sam was a writer and editor at The Observer for eight years before spending a decade in France. He now lives in the United States with his family.
Sam Taylor is a novelist and literary translator. His five novels have reached an international audience, and his award-winning translations include works by Laurent Binet, Leïla Slimani and Marcel Proust. Born in England, Sam was a writer and editor at The Observer for eight years before spending a decade in France. He now lives in the United States with his family.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
This novel, set in 16th-century Florence, is as much a book about history and art as it is about religion. Written in epistolary form, it manages to reveal the protagonist’s true nature through his correspondence. The ingredients of a successful novel are all there: betrayal, cynicism, revenge, ambition… and humor. All set against the backdrop of a police investigation. It is intelligent, erudite, and informative. (Bibliothèques municipales de Genève)