Renaissance
A Lover’s Pinch
A Lover’s Pinch tells the story behind the painting known as “Gabrielle d’Estrees and One of Her Sisters.” Gabrielle was…
The Rape of Europa: The Intriguing History of Titian’s Masterpiece
This revealing examination of a painting by Titian is a scholarly, dense read, ultimately rewarding the reader with a microhistory…
The Shepherdess of Siena: A Novel of Renaissance Tuscany
Ostensibly, this is the story of Virginia Tacci, a poor shepherdess who loves horses. But that’s only part of it.…
Leonardo da Vinci: The Resurrection of the Gods
This is a new translation of a vast, sprawling novel about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, written by a…
Caravaggio: Signed in Blood
Beppo is the servant of a wine seller in early 17th-century Rome, an orphan whose home is far away. His…
Portrait in Black and Gold
Historical novels frequently tell the story of a woman succeeding in the even more male-dominated societies of the past. This…
The Gondola Maker
Morelli, author of Made in Italy, sets her new book The Gondola Maker in Venice, 1581, and centers her story…
The Soul’s Tariff
The artistic and personal world of 16th-century Venice is beautifully evoked in Johnson’s kaleidoscopic novella The Soul’s Tariff, in which…
The Brethren
In the 16th-century Périgord region of France, two veteran soldiers of the French king’s Norman legion arrive, with the money…
Forbidden Fashions: Invisible Luxuries in Early Venetian Convents
As a costume historian, I jumped at the chance to review this book, especially since the nuns I knew while…
About our Reviews
Over the last 15 years The Historical Novels Review (the society’s print magazine for our members) has published reviews of some 12,000 historical fiction books. We plan to upload them all and make them searchable here.
