Books : Scourge and Fire: Savonarola and Renaissance Italy

• The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici
• The Burning of the Vanities: Savonarola and the Borgia Pope
• April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici
• Medici Money
• Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy
• see more

• Subjects - Books - General
• History - Subjects - Books - General AAS
• Refinements - Books - English
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• Refinements - Books - Paperback

After an abortive trial by fire to shame and discredit him, his enemies set siege to his convent, leading to his arrest and trial on trumped-up charges of heresy. Savonarola mingled the fervor of religion with the ardor of republican politics. "Scourge and Fire" is the story of his impact on Florence and of the city's spell over him.

From the Publisher:
The author of the immensely successful April Blood now turns his attention to one of the most controversial figures in the Italian Renaissance.

About the Author:
Lauro Martines:
One of the world's foremost authorities on the Italian Renaissance, Lauro Martines was born in Chicago, has a Ph. D from Harvard University, but has lived in London since 1970. He was Professor of European History at the University of California. He and his wife, the novelist Julia O'Faolain, lived for some years in Florence. His books include Lawyers and Statecraft in Renaissance Florence, Power and Imagination: City States in Renaissance Italy, Society and History in English Renaissance Verse, An Italian Renaissance Sextet: Six Tales in Historical Context, Strong Words: Writing and Social Strain in the Italian Renaissance, and April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici.

Average Rating:

Rating: - A very peculiar piece of work
This is undoubtedly a thoroughly researched effort from Martines, as one would expect. There is plenty of detail included from a variety of sources but it is the interpretation and use of these sources which is unconvincing and inconsistent. Too often the author decides that certain sources can be dismissed in certain situations but held to in others - at one point he claims that Macchiavelli's impression as a witness of events cannot be trusted as he didn't write them down until 15 years later, however at a distance of half a millenium Martines has better insight! There are a great number of incidents like this in the text and leaves the reader with the impression that this is revisionism for the sake of it. Far too many attacks on the Compagnacci, ... Read More:

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Rating: - A great biography
I have been in Florence three times. And, possibly, my favourite museum in the city is the Convent of San Marco; there you can see the splendid frescoes by Fra Angelico and, in one room, at the far end of the museum, Savonarola's portrait, his robe and several of his personal items. Before reading the book I thought that Savonarola was just a clever religious fanatic who managed to have Florence under his grip; I was certainly biased against him. But I think that Lauro Martines proves us that Savonarola was a complex and fascinating figure, and that his enemies -the Pope, the Medici, the rulers in several italian Republics- were corrupt and wicked. Martines three main achivements are these: he describes con panache Florence's political setting (the fight ... Read More: