Lent

Lent

Jo Walton

#6291 of 8,085 books · #894 in Historical Fiction

Shortlisted for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature (2020).

The Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award–winning author delivers a magical re-imagining of the man who remade fifteenth-century Florence. Young Girolamo's life is a series of miracles. It's a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It's a miracle that he's friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. When Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and—miraculously—convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. Now, whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. Despite the Pope's determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he's still on the loose . . . and running Florence in all but name. And that's only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who —or what —he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling time. And this will be only the first of his many lives.