*SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2026*
'There is no living writer whose new books I fall on with greater delight than Laurent Binet. . . Perspectives is a proper treat' Naomi Alderman
'A dazzling romp' Guardian
Florence,1557. As dawn breaks, a painter is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart.
Above him, the paintings he laboured over for more than a decade. At his home, a hidden portrait scandalously depicting Maria de Medici, daughter of the Duke of Florence, as a naked Venus. Who is the murderer? Who made the painting? As the city erupts in chaos, Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation.
Letters fly back and forth carrying news of plots and speculation about the killer's identity - between Maria and her aunt Catherine de' Medici, the queen of France; between Catherine and her secret agents; and between Vasari and his friend Michelangelo. And the truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot centre of Europe.
Bursting with characters and colour, Perspectives is a mystery like no other that shows us Renaissance Florence as we've never seen it before - a dazzling, hugely entertaining novel of court machinations, murder and art.
'Doesn't get much better than this' Sunday Telegraph
'A racy and enjoyable detective story' The Times
'A dazzling romp' Guardian
'Funny and very gripping' Financial Times
| ISBN: | 9781529926972 |
| Publication date: | 22nd January 2026 |
| Author: | Laurent Binet |
| Publisher: | Vintage an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 263 pages |
| Genres: |
Historical crime and mysteries Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives Narrative theme: Sense of place Epistolary fiction Fiction in translation Historical Fiction |
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2026*
'There is no living writer whose new books I fall on with greater delight than Laurent Binet. . . Perspectives is a proper treat' Naomi Alderman
'A dazzling romp' Guardian
Florence,1557. As dawn breaks, a painter is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart.
Above him, the paintings he laboured over for more than a decade. At his home, a hidden portrait scandalously depicting Maria de Medici, daughter of the Duke of Florence, as a naked Venus. Who is the murderer? Who made the painting? As the city erupts in chaos, Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation.
Letters fly back and forth carrying news of plots and speculation about the killer's identity - between Maria and her aunt Catherine de' Medici, the queen of France; between Catherine and her secret agents; and between Vasari and his friend Michelangelo. And the truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot centre of Europe.
Bursting with characters and colour, Perspectives is a mystery like no other that shows us Renaissance Florence as we've never seen it before - a dazzling, hugely entertaining novel of court machinations, murder and art.
'Doesn't get much better than this' Sunday Telegraph
'A racy and enjoyable detective story' The Times
'A dazzling romp' Guardian
'Funny and very gripping' Financial Times
Perspectives features in the following genres: Historical crime and mysteries, Crime and mystery: private investigator / amateur detectives, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Epistolary fiction, Fiction in translation, Historical Fiction
Perspectives is available in Paperback, Hardback
Perspectives was written by Laurent Binet and published by Vintage an imprint of Random House
Perspectives has 263 pages
£8.99