The Throne - by Franco Bernini (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This meticulously researched and brilliantly told historical novel, the first of the Machiavelli trilogy, recounts the enigmatic life of Niccolò Machiavelli, revealing the complex man behind the infamous political strategist.

October 1502. As Cesare Borgia sets out to invade the Florentine Republic, Niccolò Machiavelli is sent to spy on him and to glean details of his nefarious plan. But when Borgia asks Machiavelli to write his life story, their bond gains complexity and nuance: ultimately, they both aspire to everlasting fame and to achieve it, they need each other, for the one's sword can only rule in eternity via the pen of the other.

Set against the backdrop of the Renaissance, rife with political intrigue and cultural flourishing, Bernini's richly imagined novel masterfully captures a society teetering on the brink of change and revolution, as one man takes his chance at greatness, navigating the treacherous corridors of power with guile and charisma.

The Throne is a captivating reflection on ambition, morality, and the pursuit of power and influence. As elucidating as Robert Caro's The Power Broker, as gripping and stylish as Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, and as atmospheric as Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait, The Throne reveals one of the most impactful and controversial minds in political history, and questions and asks to what lengths can one justifiably go to achieve greatness.

Review Quotes

★ "Prose meets power in a tale of Machiavelli and Borgia... An engrossing and humane novel."--Kirkus Reviews (Starred)

"Captivating... Smartly voiced, briskly paced... The Throne paints a Machiavelli credibly embedded in his vibrant, vicious times--but capable as well of the flinty thoughts and words that would outlive them."--Boyd Tonkin, Wall Street Journal

"Engrossing... Set in an era whose notions of statecraft can seem even more rapacious than our own."--Alida Becker, New York Times Book Review

"Well researched with wonderfully vivid details... The ultimate power, then, resides in words and those who know how to use them. Borgia and his armies fade away, but Machiavelli's books still belong on our shelves."--New York Journal of Books

"Bernini's engrossing historical novel follows Machiavelli's trajectory through the corridors of power in 16th-century Italy... As the relationship between the biographer and his subject evolves, each man relies on the other to achieve his political ambitions, yet only one will succeed."--Becky Meloan, Washington Post

"Machiavelli, as you've never read before."--ELLE Magazine (Italy)

"A story about manipulation and palace intrigue...It's also about the complicated relationship between a biographer and their subject, something kinda meta that historical fiction rarely delves into."--Cosmopolitan

"If you loved Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, dive into The Throne, an Italian historical novel with the same verve of a thriller while bringing the past to life."--Parade Magazine

"The Throne plunges the reader into the folds of history, among love affairs and court intrigues, outlining the portrait of one of the most illustrious figures of the Renaissance."--La bottega di Hamlin