Devourer of Books

Robin Maxwell is the author of numerous works of historical fiction, including “Signora Da Vinci.”  Click here to check out my review or here to enter to win one of two copies of “Signora Da Vinci.”

For me, the Italian Renaissance was not simply an explosion of the art and architecture that most people think of when they hear the words.  What my research uncovered was a “Shadow Renaissance” steeped in Platonic and Hermetic philosophy and Egyptian magic.  Almost every ruler, writer, scientist or thinker in those years, at least toyed with alchemy and the occult.  Despite the church’s prohibitions, most of these great men (and a few women) took these views very seriously indeed.  Few admitted to being outright atheists like Leonardo da Vinci, but attempting to meld Christian scripture with the pagan mysteries was extremely common, especially in educated and highly cultured circles…even in Rome.

Leonardo da Vinci is an iconic figure the world over.  Much is known and written about his art,  science, and inventions.  Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code signaled that esoteric and perhaps anti-Christian symbols might be hiding in plain sight in the maestro’s most famous works.  But what is known about Leonardo the pagan?  The heretic?  The atheist?  I tried to illuminate the answers to these questions in Signora da Vinci — how he and like-minded men and women survived and thrived in a climate of religious intolerance in which such philosophies could see a man burned at the stake.

Was Leonardo, in fact, a member of the clandestine “Platonic Academy of Florence?” Despite its importance, one finds little if anything written about the academy and its impact on the early Italian Renaissance — as though it was merely a men’s social club and not an overarching philosophy that informed the lives of its members, making them especially vulnerable to charges of heresy.  Authors – both fiction and non-fiction – tend to ignore the implications of such towering figures as Lorenzo “The Magnificent” de’ Medici  Sandro Botticelli, and the philosophers Marcilio Ficino and Pico Mirandola, adhering to such heretical beliefs.

My research of the period also uncovered an intriguing mystery surrounding the Turin Shroud.  Was it really Jesus’s winding cloth…or an elaborate fifteenth century hoax perpetrated by Leonardo and a band of outrageous conspirators?  In SIgnora da Vinci, I’ve based my sub-plot on the research of journalists/authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince and their two fascinating books, Turin Shroud and The Templar Revelation.  They made a good case that the image on this “holy relic” was not Jesus at all, but the first photograph ever taken, using the technology of the camera obscura…of Leonardo da Vinci himself.

What I most wanted to get across in my novel was that there is much, much more than the eye can see in the Italian Reniassance as long as you are willing to keep an open mind about the period.

• Hardcover? Or paperback?
• Illustrations? Or just text?
• First editions? Or you don’t care?
• Signed by the author? Or not?

I am not really a collector of books.  I really don’t pay any attention to whether or not something is a first edition, or if it has a certain binding.  Books signed by the author are great, but the only ones I own are those that I had signed by the author myself because those have sentimental value (like when Ariel Sabar told me that mine was the first review he read of “My Father’s Paradise” and signed my book).

Although I am not a collector, I AM a hoarder.  It took a lot for me to be able to join BookMooch and actually agree to give away some of my books.  Nothing else is leaving my collection now unless I read it and don’t particularly care for it, otherwise the books that go into my inventory mostly come from library booksales.  The only reason I can even do BM is that I know it is a good way for me to accumulate new (to me) books.

I suppose that, to me, books are for the most part too utilitarian to be a collector’s item.  I want to use them, not simply look at them.  This does lead to buying mostly paperbacks over hardcovers, as well as mostly used over new, simply so I can extend my book buying budget and have more books to hoard.  I love returning to old favorites, of having at my finger tips so many of my previous reads in case the mood to reread one of them strikes me at any time; this is also why I do not depend much on the library, other than for audio books and dvds.

Do you collect books?  Hoard them?  Primarily use the library?

If so, you should check out the blog SUPERMOM CENTRAL where they are currently giving away an AMAZING looking Bumbleride stroller.  Hello!  Free stroller?  Free good stroller?

Go there.

I’m hoping my little boy will be riding around in style in one of these come June.

I didn’t get a chance to post this over the weekend, but here are some of the neat things I found in the land of book blogs last week:

First of all, Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’ is giving away a slanket (actually 2).  I really should just stop right here because that’s pretty much too cool for words, but I’m going to keep going, in hopes that you all forget about it and don’t enter the contest, because I REALLY want to win one.  Hello!  How great would that be for reading, knitting, working at the computer?  Anyway, don’t go over to Trish’s post and don’t enter her giveaway because a ridiculous number of people have entered already and I don’t want you to make my chances any worse than they are.

Over at Write for a Reader Shelly featured a great interview…with herself!  Another blogger sent her some questions and she answered them in what seems like a pretty fun get to know your blogger meme.  If you leave a comment and ask nicely, she might even send you some questions to answer yourself. 

My Friend Amy reviewed what sounds like a really great, if extremely depressing, work of historical fiction called “Winter in Madrid.”  Pop over there to find out how someone can like a book that they say makes them want to kill themselves. 
Or, if that sounds too depressing for you, you could check out Amy’s musings on Sunday about James Patterson and why he’s a best seller.  Since James Patterson isn’t super common fare on book blogs, her thoughts may surprise you.

Speaking of historical fiction (were we?  I guess we sort of were, a few sentences back), Jennifer from LiterateHousewife had a great, thought-provoking discussion about the nature of historical fiction.  Where do you put the emphasis, on ‘historical’ or on ‘fiction’?  Find out what Jennifer and others had to say and join the conversation!

Just what we all need right now, a book about a business trying not to fail, right?  Except Kathy of Bermudaonion’s review makes “Very Valentine” sound like a a poignant, interesting, and not even depressing book.  Although it seems a little out of my preferred genre, this does sound like a fun book to read.

Marta also reviewed a fantastic sounding book this week.  Barbara Delinsky’s “While My Sister Sleeps” just went on sale this month, read her review and find out why it is already one of Marta’s favorites.

If you’re a fan of the Twilight series you’ll want to hurry yourself straight over to Book Room Reviews’ post from Saturday, because she’s got the scoop on what’s current with the New Moon movie, as well as pics of some of the (male) stars.

Lastly, we have two reviews that made me hungry.  First was Beth’s review of “More Home Cooking,” a series of essays on food and family.  Then was Wendi’s review of “Confetti Cakes for Kids,” something that would either make me raid a bakery or make me an overly ambitious baker.  You should check out this post if for no other reason than to see the cake Wendi made for her son’s birthday, it is totally amazing.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

At 75, John Perry is finally ready to join the CDF (Colonial Defense Force).  No, he was not merely putting it off, the CDF only takes recruits aged 75; although everyone assumes that CDF must have the power to make older people young again, nobody knows for sure as nobody has ever seen a CDF soldier after they left Earth.

“Old Man’s War” was John Scalzi’s first novel.  Although I’m not generally a fan of science fiction, Scalzi entranced me with his newest book, “Zoe’s Tale” (my review), which is the latest in the Old Man’s War series.  I can tell that Scalzi has been honing his craft because I definitely think “Zoe’s Tale” was a smoother novel than “Old Man’s War,” but I still found Old Man’s War very intriguing and well-written.  John Perry is an immensely likeable character, even when he’s being a smartass (which is often), and the world Scalzi creates definitely took me away.

Reading “Old Man’s War” definitely convinced me to continue in the Old Man’s War series to catch myself back up to where “Zoe’s Tale” took off.  I don’t think, however, that I have been persuaded to try any other science fiction.

Buy this book on Amazon.