A Tabernacle for the Sun

A Tabernacle for the Sun is a novel set in the Florence of Lorenzo de' Medici and is the first part of The Botticelli Trilogy. Freedom - is it Florence without the Medici, or a condition of the soul? This is the question facing Tommaso de' Maffei, an apprentice scribe who cannot forgive Lorenzo for sacking his native city of Volterra. But if he would join the Platonic Academy and take the journey of the soul, he must reconcile himself to Lorenzo. Meanwhile his family draws him into a conspiracy against the Medici. To avoid the turmoil, both inner and outer, he takes refuge in the painter's workshop where his friend, Filippino, is an apprentice.

This book draws the reader into the Renaissance, to walk the streets of Florence, meet its famous men, loiter awhile in Botticelli's workshop and see one of the world's greatest paintings grow from first sketches through to finished panel, even as daggers are drawn and blood begins to spill.

Since its first publication in 1997, A Tabernacle for the Sun has met rapturous response from readers and reviewers and has become a classic travel companion for anyone going to Tuscany, as recommended by Lonely Planet guide to Florence and Tuscany. 'The historical detail ... is exemplary and [it's] a cracking good read.'


Genre: Historical