Political Literature of Europe: Before and After Machiavelli

Covering Dante to Flaubert, this book examines the hostility in Europe between writers and authority. It demonstrates how great authors conveyed their unorthodox views, despite censure and severe punishments. Especially interesting is a discussion of Machiavelli’s minor works, which reveal a man with an unshakeable concern for the same themes analysed in his major treatises, the Prince and Discourses on Livy .