≫ [PDF] The Red Lily Crown A Novel of Medici Florence Elizabeth Loupas Books

The Red Lily Crown A Novel of Medici Florence Elizabeth Loupas Books

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The Red Lily Crown A Novel of Medici Florence Elizabeth Loupas Books

A gripping tale of Renaissance Italian politics, the author shows us a tale of shifting loyalties, murderous family dynamics, and two souls just trying to survive it all. I found myself drawn in quickly and thoroughly, not being released until the very end. While there were fantastical elements that seemed out of place, they didn’t drag the book down too much.

Ruan and Chiara are fantastic leads. Two individuals from identically poor and harsh backgrounds, they made a life for themselves through hard work, intelligence, and cunning. With similar motivations and goals, their journeys dovetail into a powerful duo. They play off each other well, making the reader care for them as individuals and as a pair.

I also enjoyed the attention paid to the other characters fleshing out this story. The Medicis in all their autocratic glory are present, front and center. The author paid attention to all the major and minor players of this family: emotional Isabella, despotic Francesco, psychopathic Pietro, scheming Bianca, and clever Ferdinand. The way they plot and move their metaphorical pieces across the board of life keeps the reader enthralled.

The attention to detail is phenomenal in this work. From the little to the big, the setting and historical details breathe with life. The intricacies of court life, beautiful Renaissance clothing details, the polar opposites of rich/poor living, and the different power plays keep the reader reading from page to page rapidly. I also loved all the alchemy details: learning how the emphasis was on more than just finding the Philosopher’s Stone and making gold (though those seemed to be the main reason), how these practices impacted our character’s lives, and how ultimately alchemy was the key to the whole story.

The one issue I have with this book is the few instances of the fantastical the author weaves into it. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem for me; after all, I was a huge reader of fantasy in high school and love it with my historical fiction nowadays. Yet, it felt with all the emphasis on the historical drama of the Medici family politics and its impact on those in their circle that these instances were out of place with the rest of the story.

Despite that one detail, I’d still consider this book a strong look at Renaissance Italy, its politics, and the daily lives of those forced to live/work under the Medici yoke. Loupas proves she knows how to write a gripping, intense tale with strong characters that make you live their lives with them. Highly recommended for lovers of the Renaissance subgenre!


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The Red Lily Crown A Novel of Medici Florence Elizabeth Loupas Books Reviews

The Red Lily Crown kept me reading, but it was one of those books that made me ask myself when I completed it -- was it worth staying up all night? Intricately plotted,the book is a well-researched tome of 16th century Florence, but I didn't find it quite so delightful as some of the fictional accounts of the Renaissance I've read. I think the problem is a lack of characterization. I couldn't feel the heroine's feelings with her -- the deep hope for love, redemption and freedom, and the fear and horror she experiences at various points throughout the book. It's all there, yes, we are told she experiences these things, but, as another reviewer notes, I just couldn't connect with her. I liked the fact that she kept her vow of virginity until it was lifted by the cardinal, but again, I didn't really feel the fear or strain of it as her love for Ruan began to develop, nor the relief she felt when she finally found herself in his arms. In other words, there's lots of good material here. It's not just a love story, and it's not a fantasy, but what would seem to be a realistic account of a prince. an Englishman and a young girl's efforts to use alchemy to create what would seem to be magic, across the backdrop of the Medici legacy and the Catholic church. Perhaps the best character of all was Nona, Chiara's grandmother, who was charming in an inventive, original manner. I liked Ruan too, a fine specimen of a man. I simply would have liked Chiara to be more of a real person, with emotions as well as intelligence.
Who isn't fascinated by the Borgias or the Medici? I love a good Italian states novel and this is Loupas' second. First she gave us the story of Barbara of Austria, second wife of the Duke of Ferrara in The Second Duchess, which began in 1565. Now she returns to Italy (after a Scottish stint in her The Flower Reader), this time in Florence during the reign of the Medici.

It's 1574 and Duke Cosimo de Medici has just died. His eldest son Francesco is to take over control of Florence and Tuscany. Francesco, married to Giovanna of Austria (younger sister of Barbara of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara), is an alchemy aficionado, a womanizer (especially with his longtime mistress Bianca Cappello) and quite possibly is psychologically unbalanced.

It's Francesco's obsession with alchemy that brings our young commoner heroine Chiara Nerini into his life. Chiara lives in a household now comprising only herself, her sisters and her grandmother after the death of her father Carlo, a bookseller and dabbler in alchemy who blows himself up in an experiment gone awry prior to the beginning of this story.

The Nerini women are in desperate straits and, needing money, 15-year-old Chiara hopes to sell some of her father's alchemy equipment to Francesco de Medici. What happens instead is that he decides to make her his "soror mystica", the female principle necessary for creation of the Philosopher's Stone. Chiara becomes his virtual prisoner and she and English alchemist Ruanno (our mysterious hero) form a trio with Francesco in alchemy experimentation, with the goal of creating said stone.

Well, that's just a part of the story. In addition we have lots of scandalous behavior of the extended Medici family and "friends", behavior that does not shy away from violence, cruelty and even murder. There's never a dull moment in the Medici household.

This is Loupas' third historical novel and is the first one not told from 1st person POV. It may be for this reason that many readers are saying that this is her best novel yet, since 1st person POV can be limiting, only showing things from the mindset and motivations and observations of the narrator. And it is an enjoyable read, nicely descriptive of life during that time.

However much I enjoyed it, I still find THE SECOND DUCHESS to be more compelling as a mystery and THE FLOWER READER to be more interesting as a novel about political and international intrigue. This new one by Loupas is somewhat more salacious and, although extremely interesting in its treatment of alchemy, poison, medicine and medical treatment of the times, comes across a bit like a soap opera set in l6th century Florence. But it's fascinating soap opera and has been well researched by Loupas. I'm ready for her next book.
A gripping tale of Renaissance Italian politics, the author shows us a tale of shifting loyalties, murderous family dynamics, and two souls just trying to survive it all. I found myself drawn in quickly and thoroughly, not being released until the very end. While there were fantastical elements that seemed out of place, they didn’t drag the book down too much.

Ruan and Chiara are fantastic leads. Two individuals from identically poor and harsh backgrounds, they made a life for themselves through hard work, intelligence, and cunning. With similar motivations and goals, their journeys dovetail into a powerful duo. They play off each other well, making the reader care for them as individuals and as a pair.

I also enjoyed the attention paid to the other characters fleshing out this story. The Medicis in all their autocratic glory are present, front and center. The author paid attention to all the major and minor players of this family emotional Isabella, despotic Francesco, psychopathic Pietro, scheming Bianca, and clever Ferdinand. The way they plot and move their metaphorical pieces across the board of life keeps the reader enthralled.

The attention to detail is phenomenal in this work. From the little to the big, the setting and historical details breathe with life. The intricacies of court life, beautiful Renaissance clothing details, the polar opposites of rich/poor living, and the different power plays keep the reader reading from page to page rapidly. I also loved all the alchemy details learning how the emphasis was on more than just finding the Philosopher’s Stone and making gold (though those seemed to be the main reason), how these practices impacted our character’s lives, and how ultimately alchemy was the key to the whole story.

The one issue I have with this book is the few instances of the fantastical the author weaves into it. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem for me; after all, I was a huge reader of fantasy in high school and love it with my historical fiction nowadays. Yet, it felt with all the emphasis on the historical drama of the Medici family politics and its impact on those in their circle that these instances were out of place with the rest of the story.

Despite that one detail, I’d still consider this book a strong look at Renaissance Italy, its politics, and the daily lives of those forced to live/work under the Medici yoke. Loupas proves she knows how to write a gripping, intense tale with strong characters that make you live their lives with them. Highly recommended for lovers of the Renaissance subgenre!