Dante: The Poet, the Political Thinker, the Man - Tapa blanda

'Every so often a great scholar casts off conventional pedagogical restraints and rethinks their entire subject afresh. Barbara Reynolds' new biographical study is probably the most lively and accessible introduction to Dante now available. Reynolds offers adventurous and always intriguing solutions to some ancient Dante-puzzles, and cites the best recent research, much of it her own. The book is immensely readable, not least in its presentation of Dante as master showman - in all the spatial, visual, musical, and dramatic senses of the term.' Edward Peters, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania 'This highly original study of Dante and his works is the fruit of a lifetime's devotion to both poetry and scholarship. The breadth of its vision and the depth of its understanding will excite and provoke its readers. It suggests bold solutions to enigmas that have puzzled and tantalised scholars for centuries. It makes a significant contribution to Dante studies.' John A Scott, Emeritus Professor of Italian Studies, The University of Western Australia 'This masterly and revolutionary reconsideration of what is known of Dante's life - combined with a close and profound reading of Dante's work -restores to view the actual context in which the Divine Comedy was written. Barbara Reynolds paints a complete picture of Dante's difficult life and times, revealing the corruption, conflict, betrayal, wickedness and folly out of which he forged his transcendent vision of heaven and hell, and of right and wrong. The impressive scale of that vision cannot properly be comprehended without an appreciation of the earthy, material world from which Dante drew it. Like a latter-day Virgil, Dr Reynolds guides us to a fresh understanding of human and divine in the work of one of the world's greatest writers.' Jill Paton Walsh, author of Knowledge of Angels and GoldengroveTHE ECONOMISTA judicious new biography.THE BLOOMSBURY REVIEWA direct, alluring and accessible biography of one of literature's most enduring figures.Larry T. ShillockBarbara Reynolds interviewed on DIALOGUE (Ireland radio)

Dante is one of the towering figures of medieval European literature. Yet many riddles and questions about him persist. By re-reading Dante with an open mind, Barbara Reynolds made remarkable discoveries and unlocked previously hidden secrets about this greatest of Florentine poets. A fundamental enigma has tantalised readers of the Commedia for seven centuries. Who was the leader prophesied by Virgil and Beatrice to bring peace to the world? Many attempts have been made to identify him, but none has seemed conclusive -until now. As well as proposing a solution to the famous prophecies, this lively, engaging and elegantly-written biography contains a provocative new idea in virtually every chapter. Dr Reynolds' research indicates that Dante may have smoked cannabis to reach new heights of creativity. That Beatrice, Dante's great love, was not who most scholars think she was. That Dante was a talented public speaker, who created a quite new form of poetic art, holding audiences spellbound. Above all, Reynolds views Dante as one of the greatest spin-doctors of Western civilization. His aim was not to preach an interesting parable about punishments for sin and rewards for virtue. It was to use poetry to change the politics of the age, and unite Europe around the secular authority of an Emperor. To promote this idea, which dominated his writings from his exile onwards, Dante combined it with a dramatic presentation of the Christian belief in Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Vividly told in the first person, with a colour and immediacy derived from the pop art of street narrators - now made to seem respectable by its use of classical predecessors like Virgil - this extraordinary journey through the three realms was always profoundly political in intent. Dante here comes alive as never before: irate, opinionated, settling scores - a man of mutifaceted gifts and extraordinary genius, whose role as an interpreter of world history makes him more than ever relevant to the new millennium.