A distinguished historian of the Italian Renaissance and former professor of European History at UCLA, Lauro Martines has written a number of nonfiction books about the Renaissance. His recent books include April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici (published in the U.S. by Oxford University Press). Loredana is his first novel. He and his wife, novelist Julia O'Faolain, lived in Florence for years and now reside in London.