Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga

In this first full length scholarly study of Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga, Sarah Cockram casts new light on a long misunderstood relationship and shows the couple's strategic teamwork in action. Drawing on largely unpublished archival material, she illuminates tactics of collaboration and double-dealing. She reveals sharing of authority; behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity; epistolary practices and dissimulation; network-building; sexual politics and seduction; court rivalries; Machiavellian intrigues and assassinations.