Florenzer

“Dreamlike and reflective … the novel invites favorable comparisons to other queer historical fiction like The Song of Achilles and Memoirs of Hadrian… A unique and well-written addition depicting lesser-known details about the lives of three pivotal Renaissance figures.” – Library Journal”[An] assured debut … Well-researched, proudly lusty historical fiction.” – Kirkus Reviews“Leonardo da Vinci! Lorenzo de Medici! Murder! Commissioned art! Papal armies! Queer love affairs! There appear to be all these and more in Phil Melanson’s bloody and beautiful exploration of Renaissance Florence at a time beset by political chaos, and filled with glorious new artistic creations. All I’ve got under my belt so far is the cast of characters, but those names alone show that this volume is sure to be a ROMP.” – Molly Odintz, Crime Reads“It’s hard to say what I loved more—the luminous prose, the spectacularly layered research, or the tenderness with which Melanson approaches young Leonardo’s sexual and artistic awakening. Readers who love Italy or Renaissance art will revel in all the lush details that bring 1400s Florence to life, but one needn’t be an Italophile for this breathtaking piece of historical fiction to leave you utterly transfixed.” – Rachel Beanland, author of The House Is on Fire and Florence Adler Swims Forever“Phil Melanson’s gorgeous debut is a closely observed historical epic that captures the dawn of the modern era with the swaggering command of an old master. His characters are no dusty figures out of textbooks, either, but flesh-and-blood individuals who are equal parts delicate, calculating, and damaged.” – Brian Castleberry, author of The Californians and Nine Shiny Objects“By embracing Leonardo da Vinci as a young artist grappling with his queerness, Florenzer tells a tender, passionate story that offers a bold new perspective on an iconic genius and the city that shaped him.” – Tara Karr Roberts, author of Wild and Distant Seas“A superb debut that encompasses both the agony and the ecstasy of Renaissance Florence—the ferocious political scheming of the Medicis and the exquisite wonder of art and the church.” – Tim Leach, author of The Sarmatian Trilogy“Historical novels speak to me if and only if they leave me to reflect on their present-day resonances. Florenzer is one such work. To read this novel is to enjoy that abundance through the eyes of a young, unproven artist who will pay a heavy price for loving men in his life as in his work…. All this in gorgeous prose that captures the artist’s eye like no other.” – Maureen Freely, author of The Other Rebecca, former president of English PEN“A sweeping, sure-footed saga… Florenzer contemplates human ambition as a source of conflict and a means to true transcendence and connection. An enthralling debut.” – Laura Warrell, author of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm

Phil Melanson is a graduate of New York University and the University of Warwick. A former movie marketer for Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures, he now lectures in film and television for Boston University. He lives in London.