Contents

Title Page

Map of Florence and Medici Family Tree

 

PROLOGUE: A Summer’s Day at Cerreto Guidi

 

I A MEDICI CHILDHOOD

 

1 The New Medici

2 ‘I Have Never Seen a More Beautiful Baby Girl’

3 Growing up Medici

4 Approaching Adulthood

 

II A MEDICI PRINCESS GROWS UP

 

1 A Bridegroom for Isabella

2 Medici Weddings

3 Zibellini and a Hat Full of Musk

4 The Duke and Duchess of Bracciano

5 ‘My Brother and I’

6 Overcome by Sorrow

 

III THE FIRST LADY OF FLORENCE

 

1 After Eleonora

2 At Home with Paolo and Isabella

3 Debt

4 Conflict

5 The Baroncelli

6 The Theatre of Isabella

7 Fidelities

8 Troilo

9 A ‘Clandestine’ Affair

 

IV MEDICI MACHINATIONS

 

1 The Imperial Sister-in-Law

2 Family Lives

3 Grand Duke

4 Cammilla

5 ‘I Turchi’

6 Lepanto and Don Giovanni

7 Putti

8 Bianca

9 An Assassination

10 The Best of Times

 

V THE TROUBLES OF A MEDICI PRINCESS

 

1 The Decline of Cosimo

2 The Children’s Negotiation

3 ‘My Coming’

4 The New Ambassador

5 Leonora

6 The Duelling Season

7 The Pucci Conspiracy

8 Troilo, Bandito

 

VI FINAL ACTS

 

1 The New Year

2 A Trip to Cafaggiolo

3 A Trip to Cerreto Guidi

4 ‘As If She Imagined What Was in Store for Her’

5 Post-Mortem

6 The Culling Continued

7 The Assassin’s Tale

 

EPILOGUE: Isabella Eterna

 

Bibliography

List of plates

Acknowledgements

Index

Plates

About the Author

Copyright