Chiara Nerini's family lives in poverty and is struggling
to survive in 16th Century Florence. This brave 15 year
old decides to take matters into her own hands and tries to
sell some rare and extremely valuable alchemist equipment
to Francesco de' Medici, the Prince of Florence.
Francesco
is obsessed with alchemy so he gladly buys the items, but
he also takes Chiara and forces her to work for him in his
laboratory and live in the Medici palaces. While at the
Medici palaces she lives in the lap of luxury but she is
subjected to all of the intrigue, deception and immorality
of the Medici court.
When Francesco becomes the Grand Duke
of Tuscany, after the death of his ailing father, he
becomes a despot tyrant capable of unspeakable acts.
Chiara also falls in love with an English alchemist, Ruan
Pencarrow, who is also in the employ of the Grand Duke.
In the end, Chiara and Ruan also become victims of the
Grand Duke's irrational behavior.
Elizabeth Loupas does an impressive job of describing in
vivid
detail what it was like in the Medici court and palaces of
the 16th Century. From the furniture, to the clothing, to
the description of their meals, the reader feels
transported to this era. It is evident that the author did
exhaustive research to make sure that THE RED LILY CROWN is
historically accurate.
The other strength of THE RED LILY CROWN is the depth of
the characters that the author depicts
throughout the book. There is a rather long cast of
characters to keep straight so the author includes a
glossary of names at the end of the book. Chiara is a
strong female heroine with whom the reader immediately
empathizes. In contrast, Francesco de' Medici and his
mistress Bianca Cappello are despicable characters whom the
reader can't help but dislike. One of my favorite
characters in the book was Francesco's wife, Giovanna.
Despite the fact that her husband openly parades his
mistress around in public, she remains loyal and pious
throughout the story.
The rich characters and intricate historical details that
Elizabeth Loupas includes in THE RED LILY CROWN make this a
must read for anyone who loves historical fiction.
Elizabeth Loupas returns with her most ambitious historical
novel yet, a story of intrigue, passion, and murder in the
Medici Court...
April, 1574, Florence, Italy. Grand Duke Cosimo de’ Medici
lies dying. The city is paralyzed with dread, for the next
man to wear the red lily crown will be Prince Francesco:
despotic, dangerous, and obsessed with alchemy.
Chiara Nerini, the troubled daughter of an anti-Medici
bookseller, sets out to save her starving family by selling
her dead father’s rare alchemical equipment to the prince.
Instead she is trapped in his household—imprisoned and
forcibly initiated as a virgin acolyte in Francesco’s quest
for power and immortality. Undaunted, she seizes her chance
to pursue undreamed-of power of her own.
Witness to sensuous intrigues and brutal murder plots,
Chiara seeks a safe path through the labyrinth of Medici
tyranny and deception. Beside her walks the prince’s
mysterious English alchemist Ruanno, her friend and teacher,
driven by his own dark goals. Can Chiara trust him to keep
her secrets…even to love her…or will he prove to be her most
treacherous enemy of all?
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