In 1314, seventeen-year-old Pietro Alighieri travels to Verona with his father, the infamous poet Dante, at the invitation of its leader, the legendary Francesco “Cangrande” della Scala. A sneak attack from Padua leads Pietro into his first battle, fighting alongside the charismatic Cangrande, and into a tight friendship with Mariotto Montecchio and Antonio Capulletto. Behind the scenes, repeated attempts are made against the life of a child believed to be Cangrande’s illegitimate son and possible heir.
Pietro is drawn into a web of intrigue around the child and the tension building between Mariotto and Antonio over a woman betrothed to one and in love with the other—a situation that will sever a friendship, divide a city, and ultimately lead to the events of the best known tragic romance in the world.
Inspired by the plays of Shakespeare, the poetry of Dante, and the events of history, The Master of Verona is a compelling novel of politics, loyalty, conspiracy, and starcrossed romance.
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“Narrating his own novel, David Blixt delivers an intricate historical fiction with a modern vibe based on Shakespearean characters as well as historical Italians in the fourteenth century. Blixt does well voicing the youthful protagonists, especially the wide-eyed yet courageous young Pietro Alighieri…[With] his sumptuous, well-crafted language and plot…this is an entertaining preface to the city-wide feud that separated Romeo and Juliet.”
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