From the publisher: Francesco is a knight in not-so-shining armor; he makes mistakes and pays for them dearly. In his ideal existence, he would rather make love than war, but he is the Count of Romena and his legacy is contested.
In fourteenth century Italy, politics are deadly. Francesco and his noble peers are losing power; their world is disintegrating, and with it, Francesco's legacy. To retain it, he will fight anyone-his family, the church, and even himself.
Ellen, big congrats on the release of your Medieval novel, "The Legacy" and good luck with its nomination for the 2005 Independent Publisher Book Awards! Tell us - when did you begin your journey to write this novel about Francesco Romena, the no ordinary knight?
My journey with Francesco began as far back as 1972 - I was reading Giovanni Villiani's history of Florence and came across an entry about the knight Buondelmonte dei Buondelmonti. Buondelmonte insulted a knight of the powerful Amidei family at a banquet at which swords were drawn and as a result, the offended family pressured Buondelmonte to pay for the insult by way of marriage to one of their daughters. Legend has it that a woman from the Donati family saw Buondelmonte one day and convinced him to put aside his contract with the Amidei and marry her daughter, a more beautiful and wealthy girl. Buondelmonte agreed and when he should have been marrying the Amidei girl in the cathedral, he was across town at another church marrying the Donati girl. The offended family was even more incensed and conspired to kill Buondelmonte, which they did, on Easter Day in 1215-1216, when Buondelmonte was, all dressed in white, riding over the Ponte Vecchio.
Now, I could have written a story about Buondelmonte, but there was so little to go on, so I used the basic premise of the event and turned it into The Legacy.
Fascinating, Ellen! Have you visited Italy to research this book? Did you base the characterisation of Francesco on any real historical personage?
Yes, I did go to Italy - to Tuscany and the Veneto. I originally wanted to have the story in Verona, but I decided on Florence once I actually got to Italy and lived there. I'd always wanted to visit Italy - my mother was part Italian - and I figured, if you're going to write about the place, walk in the streets, smell the smells, feel the stones.
 |
