The Viper of Milan

Book excerpt: The Viper of Milan depicts 14th century Italy as a place of danger and fractious warfare, as disparate groups of nobles fought to achieve and maintain supremacy. A novel steeped in darkness and conflict, we are plunged into the rivalries which rend the province of Lombardy in the early Renaissance. That the reader be immersed, Marjorie Bowen researched the period extensively, noting the rise of the Visconti family who would dominate Milan for decades. Although this novel is not historically accurate, its general depiction of Italian society and nobility of the time - of its priorities, cruelties and caprices - is founded in factual incidents. Marjorie Bowen specialized in historical romances, publishing over a hundred fictional works set in a variety of time periods and locales, together with several biographies of famous figures of yore. Often they contain a romantic element, alongside a gothic or dark aspect; such idiosyncrasy made Bowen a favorite of authors such as Graham Greene. The Viper of Milan, which appeared in 1906, is her earliest published work, the warm reception spurring the young author to further writing.