About the book:Who are the Medici brothers? And who is trying to assassinate them? Why was the Pitti Palace never completed? And what part did Leonardo play in all of this? Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as an artist and inventor. But who was he before anyone knew his name? This family-friendly novel explores the history and the legends of his early years in Florence. It also weaves a mystery of politics and power.
My review:
Leonardo the Florentine is the story of Da Vinci's early years as an apprentice to an artist/sculptor Verrochio. The story was well-written and set up more like a novel than a history lesson. I can see this being useful to home school parents who want decent stories for Middle grade students that reflect real history but are family friendly at the same time.
The plot was fairly interesting and the author did a good job placing the reader in the setting. I enjoyed the political aspects of the novel. Having recently read a novel about Catherine de Medici, this story was even more interesting to me because the Medicis were a major focus in this novel as well as Leonardo Da Vinci's life.
Political unrest was highlighted just like it happened in Italian history. In some ways the various families fighting each other from different cities reminded me of a modern day mafia-type situation. I find it intriguing how similar situations happened centuries ago (such as certain families wanted to rule and dominate certain areas or cities.) But that's an aside. Overall this was a rewarding read.
Leonardo the Florentine was published by the author and released in October 2010. I won this book on the Freado book promotion site.
1 comment:
Great review! I`m reading this for sure!
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