Perspectives

A brilliant reinvention of the detective novel, set in Renaissance Florence and packed with art, scandal, murder and scheming - from the author of the international bestseller HHhH.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, the queen of France; between Catherine and her scheming agents in Florence; and between Vasari and his friend Michelangelo. Meanwhile, the Pope is banning books and branding works of art immoral. And the truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot centre of Europe.Bursting with characters and colour, Perspectives is a mystery like no other that shows us Renaissance Florence as we've never seen it before - a dazzling, hugely entertaining novel of court machinations, murder and art.

One of the most successful French writers of his generation... a wild romp of a book that turns history on its head Guardian on CIVILISATIONS
Glorious, funny and profound Daily Telegraph on CIVILISATIONS
A bold and thrilling experiment in counter-factual history from a masterful storyteller Financial Times on CIVILISATIONS
Characteristically ambitious, brilliant... Combining all the pleasure of a period romp with vital questions about our shared origin stories... a triumph i on CIVILISATIONS
A hugely entertaining novel, taking delight in its own twists and turns Spectator on THE 7TH FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
HHhH is a highly original piece of work, at once charming, moving, and gripping Martin Amis on HHhH
Lively, earthy, experimental, ambitious, clever and endlessly entertaining... Smart, witty, direct, cool The Times Literary Supplement on THE 7TH FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
A very well-done [thriller]…with surprising twists and a satisfying denouement… Historical fiction doesn’t get much better than this Sunday Telegraph
A brainy page-turner… Witty and engrossing Mail on Sunday
A dazzling romp Guardian

Laurent Binet lives and works in France. His first novel, HHhH, was an international bestseller which won the prestigious Prix Goncourt du premier roman, among other prizes. The 7th Function of Language won the Prix de la FNAC and Prix Interallie. Civilisations is a bestseller that has won the Grand Prix de l'Academie fran aise.

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