Ada Palmer
Head of Zeus
13 February 2025
768
eBook - PDF
Non-Fiction/History
ARC via NetGalley
An irreverent new take on the Renaissance, which reveals it as anything but Europe's golden age.
From the darkness of a plagued and war-torn Middle Ages, the Renaissance (we're told) heralds the dawning of a new world--a halcyon age of art, prosperity, and rebirth. Hogwash! or so says award-winning novelist and historian Ada Palmer. In Inventing the Renaissance, Palmer turns her witty and irreverent eye on the fantasies we've told ourselves about Europe's not-so-golden age, myths she sets right with sharp clarity.
Palmer's Renaissance is altogether desperate. Troubled by centuries of conflict, she argues, Europe looked to a long-lost Roman Empire (even its education practices) to save them from unending war. Later historians met their own political challenges with a similarly nostalgic vision, only now they looked to the Renaissance and told a partial story. To right this wrong, Palmer offers fifteen provocative portraits of Renaissance men and women (some famous, some obscure) whose lives reveal a far more diverse, fragile, and wild Renaissance than its glowing reputation suggests.
Inventing the Renaissance was a highly engaging romp through Renaissance history that managed to be both informative and entertaining at once, with the author referencing everything from Plato to Batman and Assassin's Creed. Some of the nicknames she gave the historical figures were so catchy I don't think I'll ever forget them (Battle Pope 2!) and they helped, too, in keeping characters straight in your mind as you read, considering the number of repeating first names among the major players (notably the Popes). It was fascinating to see how many of our perceptions about the Renaissance stem from later centuries, and the author offered some interesting new perspectives on events I had thought I already knew well. Despite its length, this book remained captivating throughout save, for me at least, a slight lull in Part IV with the lengthy discussion on humanism. If you are a history fan, it's definitely worth a read, especially since it combines perfectly a compelling narrative with academic rigour. I am giving it 4.5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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