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March 2009 - The Master of Verona by David Blixt
- MLE (Emily Cotton)
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3564
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
- Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
- Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
- Location: California Bay Area
my copy of MOV just arrived, and I was sucked in at once. As it happens, the Guelph/Ghibelline issue is constantly referred to in the NF I am reading (About Charles V's Ambassador to Rome, among other places) but the writer assumes that all the readers know what it is. I meant to look it up to learn more, and will, now that it has popped up in MOV.
- diamondlil
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2642
- Joined: August 2008
I really love it when that odd kind of link happens unexpectedly.
My Blog - Reading Adventures
All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton
All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
Edith Wharton
I was intrigued by David's comment in his interview on Margaret's Historical Novels Info blog about the number of Shakesperaean crosssover characters in MOV, far more than I'd discovered! To help us out, David has posted a list on his blogsite:
http://themasterofverona.typepad.com/
http://themasterofverona.typepad.com/
I came across this article about Guelphs and Ghibellines which I found quite concise and helpful, especially in relation to Dante's involvement. To add to the preexisting complications of the conflict, in 1300, the Guelphs divided into two opposing parties , known as the Blacks (Neri) and Whites (Bianchi)
http://www.dantealighieri.net/cambridge/guelphs.html
http://www.dantealighieri.net/cambridge/guelphs.html
[quote=""annis""]I came across this article about Guelphs and Ghibellines which I found quite concise and helpful, especially in relation to Dante's involvement. To add to the preexisting complications of the conflict, in 1300, the Guelphs divided into two opposing parties , known as the Blacks (Neri) and Whites (Bianchi)
http://www.dantealighieri.net/cambridge/guelphs.html[/quote]
Lovely link. This is one of those fascinating pieces of the backstory that was (mostly) excised from the novel for the sake of pacing - how the Guelph (Welf) and Ghibelline (Waiblingen) thing got started, the history that branched out under Frederick II, then became entirely disconnected from the Pope/Emperor debate, turning regional. Then came the very weird internal split between the Bianci and Neri in Florence that led to Dante's exile.
As Cangrande married Frederick's illegitimate grand-daughter, it was all linked - and I rather fancy Cangrande was looking at that link with an eye to the future. But in the end those pages didn't drive the narrative. Nor did the history of horse armaments, of which I was so very proud. Ah well. There are many books to come.
http://www.dantealighieri.net/cambridge/guelphs.html[/quote]
Lovely link. This is one of those fascinating pieces of the backstory that was (mostly) excised from the novel for the sake of pacing - how the Guelph (Welf) and Ghibelline (Waiblingen) thing got started, the history that branched out under Frederick II, then became entirely disconnected from the Pope/Emperor debate, turning regional. Then came the very weird internal split between the Bianci and Neri in Florence that led to Dante's exile.
As Cangrande married Frederick's illegitimate grand-daughter, it was all linked - and I rather fancy Cangrande was looking at that link with an eye to the future. But in the end those pages didn't drive the narrative. Nor did the history of horse armaments, of which I was so very proud. Ah well. There are many books to come.
David Blixt
The Master Of Verona
The Master Of Verona
- MLE (Emily Cotton)
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3564
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
- Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
- Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
- Location: California Bay Area
Just finished the duel. Cesco, you do a wonderful job describing fight scenes. Not being much of a fan of war novels, I confess they bore me because I have no idea what the weapons are supposed to be doing. In the middle of a very heated scene, you also managed to describe what each weapon was and how it could be used, making the strategy come alive. Bravo!
- Margaret
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2440
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: I can't answer this in 100 characters. Sorry.
- Favourite HF book: Checkmate, the final novel in the Lymond series
- Preferred HF: Literary novels. Late medieval and Renaissance.
- Location: Catskill, New York, USA
- Contact:
So true. I think that's the key to writing a good battle scene. Bernard Cornwell is also good at this. And the first battle scene I ever enjoyed reading was in Rosemary Sutcliff's Flowers of Adonis, a scene of naval warfare in ancient Greece.
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