The Lantern, a Renaissance mystery
The Lantern, a Renaissance mystery, is ahistorical novel about a modern-day woman's search to find a girl from 15thcentury Florence, Italy who dared to compete with the most famous artists of theRenaissance. Filippa George, Dolce Gaddi and Andrea Calvacanti are three livesseparated by two continents and over five hundred years. Across time and space,their lives collide as they battle abuse, disease, fear and prejudice inpursuit of their dreams. Along the way, they intersect with some of the mostfamous figures of the Renaissance including members of the Medici, Filippo Brunelleschi,Donatello and a young Michelangelo.
The Story Behind This Book
I was reading Ross King's "Brunelleschi's Dome" when I read this line: "Even a girl from the Gaddi family dared to enter the competition to build the lantern." Something sparked inside of me and I knew my next book would be about this girl. But first, I had to find out if she truly existed in Florence, Italy in the 1400's. My search took me from befriending Ross King to the New York Public Library to various attempts to find out about her from experts on the Renaissance. I finally discovered what I believe to be the truth at a local library. The Gaddi girl never existed. Well, she does now, in my novel, The Lantern.