Florenzer

Reviews

"Phil Melanson’s entertaining historical fiction debut, Florenzer, imagines the early life and same-sex longings of Leonardo da Vinci against the backdrop of a conflict between the Medici family and the Vatican. The novel, which owes a debt to Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy in the detail and immediacy of its telling, feels freshly contemporary in its papal intrigue and plutocratic power battles." — Charles Arrowsmith, Washington Post

"History buffs will relish in Florenzer, which is set in Renaissance-era Florence and reimagines the life of Leonardo da Vinci. Tapping into the historical speculation that da Vinci was gay, Florenzer follows the young painter as he intersects with two men – one being the powerful patriarch of the world’s wealthiest bank – amid an era of cultural and technological innovation." — Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY

"Phil Melanson’s debut novel, Florenzer is set in Renaissance-era Florence, and follows three ambitious men—a banker, a priest, and a gay painter named Leonardo. (Yes… that one.) For anyone who loves historical fiction, this is your summer must-read." — Queerty

"Melanson’s tender historical novel reinterprets the lives of three celebrated men in 15th-century Florence... As each man matures, he grapples with his own ambitions, responsibilities and secrets in the thriving Renaissance city that is also teeming with tension between commerce, art and religion." — Becky Meloan, Washington Post

"[Florenzer] focuses on a young Leonardo da Vinci as he comes to terms with his talent and what we would today call his queerness...But really, the thing I most love about the book so far is the physicality of it, how it feels to walk the streets of Florence in different sections of it, the sights and sounds and smells, the immediacy of it. I am only about a quarter of the way through this book. But I have it on very good authority that it gets, as the kids today say, pretty spicy. But right now, I'm loving the prose, the vividness of this writing, what we used to say in grad school, the availability of this place and time." — Glen Weldon, NPR, Pop Culture Happy Hour

"Melanson introduces us to a teenage Leonardo still struggling to find himself amid the roiling artistic and political atmosphere of late-15th-century Florence . . . For a young man sexually attracted to other young men, this can be particularly dangerous . . . Yet his work may be his salvation." — Alida Becker, New York Times Book Review

"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

"In this inviting debut, Melanson reconstructs Renaissance Florence through intersecting stories of artist Leonardo da Vinci, banker Lorenzo de’ Medici, and priest Francesco Salviati . . . What makes the narrative so approachable is the way it captures these historical figures before their glory, when they’re dogged by the universal and timeless fear that they were born too late and won’t be remembered. Melanson’s immersive tale is worth a look." — Publishers Weekly

"Set amidst the squalor and splendor of 15th-century Florence, Melanson’s first novel weaves the stories of young gay painter Leonardo da Vinci, a priest whose skin is deemed too dark, and a rising Medici banker into a tale brimming with art, danger, and ambition. It’s got all the gorgeous detail of a meticulously researched historical novel, but with a very contemporary pulse. In their review for the book, Kirkus called it ‘proudly lusty,’ and honestly, sold." — Michelle Hart, Electric Literature

"Packed with exquisite prose, this historical novel makes for compulsive reading—a refreshingly contemporary take on well-trod territory." — Emily Cox, Art in America

"Melanson has found an effective way to create a rich portrait of Florence. Like Leonardo, his technique is to focus in on small details of character and everyday life to create a panoramic vision." — Kristen McDermott, Historical Novel Society

"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

"Florenzer is a tender, gorgeously strange novel that reimagines Renaissance Florence through the lives of three young men (including Leonardo da Vinci) who are each searching for power, beauty, and a sense of belonging. Phil Melanson’s debut feels both epic and deeply personal, a story about art, longing, and what it means to live on the edge of history." — Dr. Eric Cervini, Allstora Co-Founder

"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