Alexander Lee

“[T]he definitive book on Machiavelli” — fantastic review of MACHIAVELLI in yesterday’s @ST_Culture from Christopher Hart amzn.to/33KyblW

Thoroughly enjoyed talking to @revistasabado for this article about the weird and wonderful goings-on at medieval and early-modern conclaves… Here’s hoping the cardinals are better behaved today! sabado.pt/vida/detalhe/s…

"Apuleius couldn't help spinning stories: it was a compulsion. Everything had to turn into an anecdote. He had the gifts not of a magician but a con artist. This is his secret; even when you figure it out you still can't stop reading. He's too good at it." antigonejournal.com/2022/10/apulei…

Shakespeare's Lost Years 🖊️My latest column for @HistoryToday historytoday.com/archive/missin…

Giovanni Boccaccio’s life was one of change and reinvention, ranging from banking to studying canon law, and culminating in his eventual exile from Naples. Alexander Lee explores how these experiences can be found in the poet’s restless work. literaryreview.co.uk/man-of-glass

In this striking new book, Marvin Trachtenberg sets out to “demythologise” the Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi. He not only succeeds - he makes it seem easy. ✍️My review of “Brunelleschi and the Moment of the Renaissance” for @TheCriticMag thecritic.co.uk/issues/july-20…

We're pleased to say a recording of Dr Alexander Lee's talk on Palladio, with an introduction from @edwest, is now available to watch on YouTube. Thanks again for a fantastic evening, @alexander_c_lee! youtu.be/fcgwGqVvghA?fe…

Arles

"Santagata’s biography is hence a work of glass... When seen in the proper light, it glistens with wit and originality. Yet it is fragile, too – just like Boccaccio himself." 🖋️My review of "Boccaccio: A Biography" by Marco Santagata for @Lit_Review literaryreview.co.uk/man-of-glass

Had a fantastic time talking about Palladio to @thecanonclub the other night. Couldn't have asked for a more delightful or welcoming audience! Many thanks to @edwest and the other organizers for inviting me!

📚New book, coming soon...!

Still a few tickets left for our next talk: "Palladio: Building the Renaissance" next weds 25th June at the Sekforde. With Dr Alexander Lee @alexander_c_lee, and hosted by Ed West @edwest. Tickets available in quoted tweet!

The competition between Lorenzo Ghiberti and Francesco Brunelleschi to design a new set of doors for Florence's Baptistery changed face of the Renaissance city forever. But did Brunelleschi ever stand a chance? My latest column for @HistoryToday historytoday.com/archive/missin…

Come one, come all!

One of the finest twentieth century British novelists talks about writing. Spellbinding.

Was Leonardo da Vinci really vegetarian, agnostic and a fashion icon? In Stephen J. Campbell’s searingly brilliant new ‘anti-biography’ we learn there isn’t much we can say about him with any certainty at all… 🖋️ My review for @spectator spectator.co.uk/article/the-da…

It is the great tragedy of Bloody Mary’s reign that she never produced an heir. But what if she and Philip II of Spain had actually had the son they craved? How would it have changed England - and the world? 🖋️ My latest column for @HistoryToday historytoday.com/archive/missin…

“[I]n their different ways, each of these books is superb. But still, it is hard to escape the feeling that Zola’s gaze remains just as it appears in Cézanne’s portrait — inscrutable.” 🖋️ My review of two new books on Zola for @TheCriticMag thecritic.co.uk/issues/april-2…

A "forceful, aggressive artist...at his best in hellish worlds or lost in dreams of sorcery." 🖋️ My review of Christopher Baker's "Creator of Nightmares: Henry Fuseli’s Art and Life" for @EngelsbergIdeas engelsbergideas.com/reviews/henry-…