Robin Maxwell's articles @ Huffington Post
Signora da Vinci JANE Augie Appleby
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Was the Shroud of Turin the world's first photograph?

Is the Turin Shroud really Jesus's winding cloth.or an elaborate 15th century hoax perpetrated by Leonardo da Vinci and a band of outrageous conspirators?

Of all the mysteries surrounding Leonardo, the shroud hoax is the most intriguing. In Signora da Vinci, I've based my sub-plot on the research of journalists/authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince and their riveting book, Turin Shroud. They proved to me that Leonardo - an outspoken atheist - would have been tickled to know that pious Catholic pilgrims were prostrating themselves before a "holy relic" that was not Jesus at all, but the first photograph ever taken, using the technology of the camera obscura .of Leonardo himself!

 

Camera Obscura

 

Face on the Shroud of Turin -- Leonardo da Vinci?
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"Maxwell tells the story of Caterina, a young alchemist’s daughter whose illicit love affair brings her the greatest love of her life, her genius son Leonardo. In order to watch over and protect him, she escapes from the restrictions of her gender, entering into a seductive garden of philosophy, art, learning and danger. From the dusty streets of Vinci and the glories of Il Magnifico's Florence, to the conspiratorial halls of Rome and Milan, the book celebrates one woman’s unquenchable ardor for knowledge, and a secret world that historical fiction readers rarely see."
— C.W. Gortner, author of THE LAST QUEEN

"Signora da Vinci is without a doubt the best historical fiction I have read all year. In her most remarkable novel yet, Robin Maxwell takes us back to the Italian Renaissance to give us a beautifully rendered and captivating portrait of Leonardo da Vinci's mother, Caterina. A masterful blend of fact and fiction, Signora da Vinci mesmerizes."


— Michelle Moran, Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen

"Here is a superbly imagined portrait of a woman living in turbulent times who boldly behaved as few dared.  Caterina da Vinci moved in a world that included the glittering Medici and the villainous Savonarola, all of whom are well-limned in this sparkling epic. Set in the sunshine of 15 th century Tuscany, the novel continually delights with intriguing details, from the bottega workshops of the great Italian masters to the minutiae of an alchemist's laboratory."


Vicki Leon, Uppity Women of the Renaissance, Working IX to V
For Reading Groups - Readers Guide Questions
Bonus Passport to Leonardo and Caterina's World!
15th CENTURY RECIPE: Grape and Olive Compote
What is "The Shadow Renaissance?"
Was the Shroud of Turin the world's first photograph?
Signora da Vinci JANE Augie Appleby NEW! ATLANTOS
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