Medici Money: Banking, metaphysics and art in fifteenth-century Florence

Description

In a brisk and witty narrative, Tim Parks uncovers the intrigues, dodges and moral qualities that gave the Medici their edge. Vividly evoking the richness of the Renaissance and the Medici's glittering circle, replete with artists, popes and kings, Medici Money is a brilliant look into the origins of modern banking and its troubled relationship with art and religion.

Tim Parks has lived in Italy since 1981. He is the author of eleven novels, three accounts of life in Italy, two collections of essays and many translations of Italian writers.

Lucky for Italy that Tim Parks decided to live there and write about his new home. His books instruct and entertain. His acute sense of people and history now comes to grand fruition in his tome on the Medici, a gift to anyone who has been dazzled by Florence. Splendid reading -- Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun An erudite and profound examination of the Renaissance banking family. * BBC History Magazine * The fabulous banking boys...fascinating and intricate. * The Guardian * Tim Parks proves a delightful guide to both the Florentine Renaissance and the family history of one of Europe's greatest dynasties. In Medici Money he wears his considerable learning with refreshing lightness, giving us a wise and witty meditation on money, art and power, Renaissance-style -- Ross King - author of Brunelleschi's Dome Parks brings a novelist's flair to his task and comes out as a hip and snappy narrator. * Independent on Sunday * A straightforward, readable, interesting and witty account of the rise and fall of one of the world's first banks ... A fasinating tale. * Glasgow Evening Times * Successfully captures the spirit of the age and brings alive the characters of Cosimo and Lorenzo, two men whose story remains as fascinating now as it was to their comtemporary friends and enemies. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times * Tim Parks retells the story with a hugely readable breadth and insight. -- Mark Archer * Spectator * Straight-forward, readable, interesting and witty account of the rise and fall of one of the world's first banks ... A fascinating tale. * Birmingham Post * Highlights the excesses and successes of the Florentine Renaissance and charts the glittering ascendancy of one entrepreneurial family against the backdrop of a unique Italian bank. * Good Book Guide * Successfully captures the spirit of the age, and brings alive the characters of Cosimo and Lorenzo, two men whose story remains as fascinating now as it was to their contemporary friends and enemies. * Financial Times * Parks, who is sceptical about bankers, writes about them with pace, wit and some passion. * Economist * A book which is as lively as it is learned. * Scotsman * Witty and penetrating ... Parks deftly unravels these complexities, illustrating both their benefits and the pitfalls with illuminating detail ... Tim Parks recounts the Medicis' story with an infectious enthusiasm. His own conjuring trick is to tell this grand saga, with all its chicanery, in a clear and lucid style. * Sunday Telegraph *