La Danse Du Loup

The city of Florence, Italy in 1497. An anxious crowd is rioting in the streets. The Medicis family has been exiled and power has changed hands. Who had any thoughts of celebrating the carnival? Children run boisterously through the streets brandishing red crosses. Backed up by a militia, they enter homes, tear the rich clothing off of women, demolish priceless works of art and pillage libraries. Men are preparing a stake for a burning. A monk, Jerome Savonarole roars in the cathedral "The celestial glaive has struck the Earth!" However, there are thieves mixed in with the young Inquisitioners. Political opposition is becoming organized. The spouse of a ruined merchant becomes enamoured of a wise Byzantine who has an idea on how to profit from the situation: together they will devise a prodigious travesty. The Dance of the Wolf blends intrigue, breathless pursuits and assassinations to render a very truthful image of a littleknown period during the Renaissance. La Danse du loup was awarded the Prix des Libraires when it was first published in 1983. Today the author offers a completely new version of his famous story.