The Carnival of Florence
By Marjorie Bowen
A Dominican Italian friar, Girolamo Savonarola was a preacher active in Renaissance Florence – and is often deemed one of the most tragic figures in modern history.
A Protestant but not a Heretic, a Reformer but not a Dissenter, Savonarola’s ambitious attempt to transform the Roman Church and prevent the Reformation was one fraught with dichotomies and struggle. Forced to confront not only his own inadequacies, but also those of his Faith, more often than not Savonarola found himself an impediment to his own inspiration.
But when his refusal to join the Holy League against the French resulted in Savonarola being summoned directly to the Vatican, his future suddenly became even more uncertain…
Through her celebrated blend of history and fiction, Bowen brings this unfortunate figure to life in this biographical novel. Set in fifteenth-century Italy, The Carnival of Florence is a gripping tale of a remarkable man who led a life of tragedy that met a fiery end…
Marjorie Bowen often wrote under the pseudonym Margaret Gabrielle Vere Campbell Long, and was one of Britain’s most prolific authors of the twentieth century. Between 1906 and her death in 1952, Bowen wrote over 150 books, garnering much acclaim for her popular histories and historical and Gothic romances. Alongside masterful descriptions and concise, efficient prose, she deftly rendered larger-than-life subjects in the minds of her readers. Her other titles include The Sword Decided, Mary Queen of Scots, The Queen’s Caprice, The Governor of England, Mistress Nell Gwynn and Dickon.
