{"product_id":"the-black-prince-of-florence-the-spectacular-life-and-treacherous-world-of-alessandro-de-medici-9780190092146","title":"The Black Prince of Florence: The Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro De' Medici","description":"Born to a dark-skinned maid and Lorenzo II de' Medici, the illegitimate Alessandro was groomed for power. In 1532, at the age of nineteen, backed by the Holy Roman Emperor--his future father-in-law--and the Pope, he became Duke of Florence, facing down family rivals and oligarchs and\u003cbr\u003einheriting the grandest dynasty of the Italian Renaissance. Catherine Fletcher's \u003cem\u003eThe Black Prince of Florence\u003c\/em\u003e is the first complete account of the real-life counterpart to Machiavelli's Prince. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter ruling for a turbulent six years, Alessandro was murdered in 1537 during a late-night tryst arranged by a scheming cousin. As Fletcher puts it, he was assassinated twice: first with a sword, then with a pen. Following his death, Alessandro's reign was dismissed by his enemies--of which every\u003cbr\u003eMedici prince had many, and Alessandro more than his share--and his death painted as tyrannicide. It was in the years and centuries that followed that his racial origin became a focus, first by those seeking to emphasize his savagery and thus to justify his murder, and later to argue his case as\u003cbr\u003ethe first ruler of color in the Western world. In 1931, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, founder of the famous collection of African history in Harlem, wrote an article about Alessandro in the magazine \u003cem\u003eThe Crisis\u003c\/em\u003e, then edited by W.E.B. Du Bois, calling him the Negro Medici. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDefined by intrigue, opulence, sexual conquest, and an endless struggle to retain power, Alessandro's life and afterlife reveal how racial identity has played out over the centuries, and to what degree it remains in the eye of the beholder. In this captivating biography of an intriguing and\u003cbr\u003eforgotten figure, Fletcher does full justice to his remarkable story, unraveling centuries-old mysteries, exposing forgeries, and bringing to life the epic personalities--artists, popes, queens, and pimps--of one of the most colorful periods in history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-12906540\"\u003eCatherine Fletcher\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/08\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 338\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.88lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.50w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190092146\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0190092149\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-BIO\"\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Autobiography\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-BIO006000\"\u003eHistorical\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-BIO\"\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Autobiography\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-BIO008000\"\u003eMilitary\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-BIO\"\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Autobiography\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-BIO010000\"\u003ePolitical\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatherine Fletcher\u003c\/strong\u003e is a historian of Renaissance and early modern Europe. Her first book, \u003cem\u003eThe Divorce of Henry VIII\u003c\/em\u003e, brought to life the Papal court at the time of the Tudors. She consulted on the Golden-Globe-winning TV miniseries \u003cem\u003eWolf Hall\u003c\/em\u003e and regularly broadcasts for BBC radio. She is Associate\u003cbr\u003eProfessor in History and Heritage at Swansea University and has held research fellowships in London, Florence, and Rome.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43835026079883,"sku":"9780190092146","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/5100\/7115\/files\/img_ba3298ce-0d92-476c-b8a6-409c3ed2ef82.jpg?v=1755666877","url":"https:\/\/cacorrectionsbookstore.com\/products\/the-black-prince-of-florence-the-spectacular-life-and-treacherous-world-of-alessandro-de-medici-9780190092146","provider":"CA Corrections Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}