The magnificent, alluring and ultimately tragic life of Isabella, the most brilliant woman of the Medici. The sponsor of daring literary, musical and theatrical performances, Isabella de'Medici was the hostess of a glittering circle in Renaissance Florence. Beautiful and liberated, she not only matched the intellectual accomplishments of her male contemporaries - she sought sexual parity as well, engaging in an adulterous affair with her husband's cousin. It was to be this affair -and her very success as First Lady of Florence - that led to her death at the hands of her husband at the age of just thirty-four. She left behind a remarkable story, and as her legacy a son who became the best of the Orsini Dukes, immortalised by Shakespeare as Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night. Caroline P. Murphy illuminates this often misunderstood figure - and in the process brings to life the city of Florence itself, from the reverential atmosphere of today to the living, breathing home of creativity and intrigue that made it great.