The Red Lily Crown

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS

OF ELIZABETH LOUPAS

The Red Lily Crown

“Move over, Borgias. I'm enthralled by the world evoked in
The Red Lily Crown
: the magnificent, dangerous, and deeply amoral court of the Medici in late-sixteenth-century Florence. And I fell in love with Chiara, a spunky alchemist's daughter who must use her wits to outmaneuver those who would not hesitate to kill for the secrets of the stone. A deliciously decadent page-turner.”

—Nancy Bilyeau, author of
The Crown
and
The Chalice

“Elizabeth Loupas just gets better and better.
The Red Lily Crown
is Machiavelli meets the Brothers Grimm: a dark fairy tale with the addictive allure of a poison dream. Renaissance Florence springs to life in all its gorgeous, treacherous glory when a brave street urchin finds herself neck deep in Medici bloodlust. A dash of magic, a maze of murder, a heroine to root for, and a villain who needs to die—this is historical fiction at its most compelling.”

—Kate Quinn, author of
The Serpent and the Pearl
and
The Lion and the Rose

“Elizabeth Loupas works a kind of alchemy, evoking Renaissance Florence in all its splendor and decadence. Riddled with spies, intrigue, poison, and passion, this novel set in the sixteenth-century world of the Medici grand dukes is lush, provocative, and fascinating.”

—Patricia Bracewell, author of
Shadow on the Crown

“With a deft hand and a dash of wit, Elizabeth Loupas combines alchemy, deadly secrets, a defiant young woman seeking her freedom, and a mysterious English stranger into a heady brew. This vivid and enthralling tale of sixteenth-century Medici-ruled Florence brings to life all the brutality, deception, and glamour of one of history's most intoxicating eras. I could not put it down!”

—C.W. Gortner, author of
The Queen's Vow

“Elizabeth Loupas's best novel yet, full of dark plots, well-drawn characters, and dazzling authentic Florentine details. . . . With intelligence as sharp as her chin, and the help of a Cornish alchemist with a mysterious past, Chiara is determined to survive every intrigue, and the reader roots for her from the opening pages. It is a tribute to Loupas's ability to build and sustain suspense that we are never certain of the outcome—either of individual harrowing events or the novel as a whole—until the last pages are turned. You will race through this book and then find yourself wishing it did not have to end.”

—Sophie Perinot, author of
The Sister Queens

“Elizabeth Loupas works her own particular alchemy on her readers as she brings the heady elements of the Medici court to life—fascinating!”

—Marina Fiorato, author of The Botticelli Secret and The Venetian Bargain

The Flower Reader

“Elizabeth Loupas writes a spellbinding story of Rinette Leslie, a spirited young woman who carries secrets and gifts that threaten the throne of Mary, Queen of Scotland, in the 1560s. Assassins, secret caskets, and the whispers flowers can speak thread through the story. The flower imagery is lovely.”

—Karleen Koen,
New York Times
best-selling author of
Through a Glass Darkl
y and
Before Versailles

“Elizabeth Loupas's engaging second effort gives a thought-provoking peek into the inner workings of the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. Thick with intrigue and spiced with scandal,
The Flower Reader
is a lush, vibrant tapestry of a book.”

—Deanna Raybourn,
New York Times
best-selling author of
The Dark Enquiry

“Mary Stuart is portrayed in all the fullness of her enchanting youth: impulsive and sweet, majestic and clever but also vain, naive, temperamental, and slightly neurotic. Her court is brought to life, as are the various factions and plots which rend Scotland asunder and lead to Mary's downfall.”

—
The Historical Novels Review

The Second Duchess

“Inspired by Robert Browning's classic poem, Loupas effortlessly evokes the dangerous glamour of Renaissance Italy while fashioning a spellbinding story of a woman not only trying to save her marriage but her own life as well.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“[A] winning debut. . . . Readers will warm immediately to the clever, intelligent Barbara, while the demanding, sometimes brutal Alfonso makes an intriguing man of mystery.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Very satisfying. . . . Alfonso is fascinating, but Barbara is the jewel here. Her courage and candor seduce the reader as well as her enigmatic new husband.”

—Cecelia Holland, author of
The King's Witch

“Rich in historical detail and all the dangerous grandeur of court life in Renaissance Italy. Think
The Other Boleyn Girl
meets
Rebecca
.”

—C. S. Harris, author of the Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery series

“Have you ever read a book that you wish you had written? Have you ever read a book that you wish did not end? For me,
The Second Duchess
is that book. . . . The wonderful research and the setting of sixteenth-century Ferrara serve to flesh out the plot into a fascinating historical mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed
The Second Duchess
and recommend it to all who love a good historical mystery with a well-developed romantic component. I look forward to Elizabeth Loupas's next book.”

—
The Historical Novels Review
(Editor's Choice)

The Second Duchess

The Flower Reader

THE RED LILY CROWN

A NOVEL OF MEDICI FLORENCE

ELIZABETH LOUPAS

NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY

New American Library

Published by the Penguin Group

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First published by New American Library,

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Copyright © Kristine Elizabeth Loupas, 2014

Map courtesy of donhuff.com

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA:

Loupas, Elizabeth.

The Red Lily Crown: a novel of Medici Florence/Elizabeth Loupas.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-101-61557-7

1. Medici, Cosimo de', 1389–1464—Fiction. 2. Kings and rulers—Succession—Fiction.

3. Alchemists—Fiction. 4. Assassination—Fiction. 5. Florence (Italy)—History—1421–1737—Fiction.

I. Title.

PS3612.O825R43 2014

813'.6—dc23
2013044227

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.