A vibrant history of Italy in the cataclysmic fourteenth century as seen through the life of a brilliant military strategist and bandit lord
At the dawn of the Renaissance, hordes of mercenaries swooped down on the opulent city-states of Italy and commenced to drain them dry. The greatest of all the bandits was Sir John Hawkwood, an English expatriate and military genius who formed his own army, cleverly pitted ancient rivals against one another, held the Pope for ransom, and set blood running in the streets.
In this gripping biography of the charismatic Hawkwood, Frances Stonor Saunders illuminates the fourteenth century as a time of plague, political schism, and religious mania offset by a gargantuan appetite for spectacle and luxury. Dazzling and addictively readable, The Devil's Broker is a riveting account of the fortunes gained and lost in a tumultuous time.
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Frances Stonor Saunders is the former arts editor of The New Statesman. Her first book, The Cultural Cold War, has been translated into ten languages and was awarded the Royal Historical Society's William Gladstone Memorial Prize. She lives in London.
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine (-). 1st. (CAD) First printing. No markings, Fine in Near Fine dust jacket with very light rubbing to the back panel. Boards, xviii, 366pp, index. Maps; B&W and colour illus. This is a vivid account of Sir John Hawkwood, an Englishman, who wnet to Italy and became the mist successful mercenary leader of his time. "Simply the most vivid account of the late medieval world I have ever read"--Terry Jones, Monty Python. (1.8 JM LVR 201/b5 Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾". Seller Inventory # 69185
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st. (CAD) First printing. No markings, Fine in Fine dust jacket. Boards, xviii, 366pp, index. Maps; B&W and colour illus. This is a vivid account of Sir John Hawkwood, an Englishman, who wnet to Italy and became the mist successful mercenary leader of his time. "Simply the most vivid account of the late medieval world I have ever read"--Terry Jones, (Monty Python). (1.8 JM HOQ 102/b3 Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾". Seller Inventory # 04813
Book Description Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Canadian Edition. 366 pp, 9 1/4" H. "The second son of a minor English landowner, John Hawkwood chose to head south in 1360 after serving as a captain in the Black Prince's war against France. He and other freebooters successfully held the Avignon pope to ransom, and when they were paid to desist and go to Italy, they discovered that the threat of force could be very profitable indeed. The Italian city states - Florence, Milan, Siena, and Pisa - offered the richest pickings in Europe. By alternately besieging and protecting them, Hawkwood became the most wily, reliable, and successful mercenary leader of his time, leading the Italians to conclude that 'the Devil is an Englishman'. This is the story of an age when everything came to have a price, when the mercenary companies were vastly rich corporations with their own accountatns, lawyers, and orators. it was also a time of cultural greatness, creating the ferment that would give birth to the Renaissance. (The author) creates a glittering and hard-edged evocation of an era peopled by characters ranging from Chaucer, Petrarch, and Boccaccio to St. Catherine of Sienna, a succession of corrupt, incompetent and venal popes, and the tyrannical Visconti family of Milan." Very light toning to the edges of th text block. Dust jacket has light wrinkling at the top of the spine and the front flap-fold. Not Signed. Seller Inventory # 31128
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. 384 Pages Illus. Seller Inventory # 047183
Book Description Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 8vo pp. xviii 2 366."This is the story of an age when everything came to have a price, when the mercenary companies werevastly rich corporations with their own accountants, lawyers, and orators. It was also a time of cultural greatness, creating the ferment that would give birth to the Renaissance. In The DevilÂ's Broker, Stonor Saunders?. book. Seller Inventory # 297729
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 366 pp. Illus. Spine bumped. Jacket has light edgewear. The account of John Hawkwood, an Englishman who led a mercenary company in Italy, alternately beseiging and protecting the various city states. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall. Seller Inventory # HIS1953