Art historians Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz have combined forces to create an entertaining and gripping look into the world of the Italian Renaissance through the story of Fra Fillippo Lippi and Lucrezia Buti. The former was a famous artist and the latter was the Carmelite novitiate who became his muse. Lippi and Buti are historic persons, as are many of the characters who pepper the pages of this novel -- from nuns to nobility. The authors present a world in which the church controls the state as well as the artistic community, and the challenges wrought when the two institutions collide. In this case, the monk Lippi falls in love with and seeks permission to marry his muse, but by the time it is granted she has become a nun (despite having borne two children to the artist).Those with an interest in art or Italian history are sure to enjoy this portrait of 15th Century Tuscany as seen through the eyes of people from all walks of life.(Review based on advance reader's edition.)
