DAUGHTER OF SIENA by Marina Fiorato
The Palio: Siena’s famously dangerous and hard-fought horse race. A year of planning, ten riders, three circuits of the piazza – and all over in a single moment. But in this year of 1723, for two of the women watching, far more than the coveted prize is at stake. For Pia of the Tolomei, the most beautiful woman in Siena, the Palio is her last hope of escaping a violent marriage. For Violante de Medici, it marks the start of what her enemies intend to be her last month as Governess of the city. Isolated in her palace, surrounded by conspirators, she must find the courage to uncover a plot that threatens her very existence. The trumpets sound. And into the piazza rides an unknown horseman, clad in the colours of the Tower contrada. What he does during the race will not only change the lives of Pia and Violante, but alter the course of the Medici dynasty itself… Alive with colour and rich historical detail, Daughter of Siena is a story of treachery, courage and the power of love.
