The Last Prince of Florence

By Zoe Sivak

Simonetta grows up in a Florentine foundling hospital under the care of Iye, an African nurse who teaches her to survive and defend herself. Refusing the narrow choices offered to a girl in her position, she finds an opening into the Medici household after saving Lorenzo de' Medici's life.

Love and ambition soon place her at odds with a powerful family. Accused of witchcraft, she reveals a pregnancy that could produce a Medici heir. Her son Alessandro's birth brings confinement rather than the security she hoped for, and Simonetta redirects her determination toward placing him on Florence's throne.

Inspired by Alessandro de' Medici's history, this Renaissance novel imagines a mother's struggle within systems of race, class, and dynastic power. As the crown becomes attainable, Simonetta must confront the distance her campaign has created between herself and the child whose future she has worked to control.