book cover

The Medici Seal

by Theresa Breslin

Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 9+

Published by Random House, 2007

  • Around the world
  • Coming-of-age
  • Historical

About this book

An absorbing historical novel which results from Breslin's fascination with Leonardo da Vinci, and benefits from her painstaking research into his life and career in Renaissance Italy.

Matteo the gypsy boy is rescued by Leonardo from drowning and becomes his apprentice both in the studio and in his scientific investigations. His is a journey to assuage a terrible guilt for past events, to gain self-knowledge and find the truth about his family.

In the course of this book, readers encounter the violence and corruption of the Borgias and the Medicis, and learn much about the development of medical expertise. Definitely not The Da Vinci Code for children, but a carefully reasoned and historically informed novel about growing up and making choices.

About the author

Theresa Breslin is the author of over 30 books for children and young adults, and is particularly well-known for her critically-acclaimed historical fiction. She won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 1994 and her work has been filmed for television and broadcast on radio. Before taking up writing full time, she worked as a librarian.

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