The Making of a Prince: A Novel Based on the Life of Niccolò Machiavelli

Born into a modest family in fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli navigated his way through the violence and political uncertainty of Renaissance Italy. Recognized for his keen mind and understanding of human nature and government, Machiavelli courted kings and popes as the leading ambassador for his beloved Republic.

But it was a time of treachery, collusion, and war.

Wrongfully accused and convicted, Machiavelli lost everything when the Medici returned to power. Except his mind and his quill. Hoping to write his way back into Florentine society, he drew upon his experiences and the villains of his time in his novellas, histories, plays, and political treatises such as the Discourses on Livy, The Art of War, and his irreverent masterpiece, The Prince, earning his place in history as the father of modern political science.

About the Author

Maurizio Marmorstein is an award-winning screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, and educator. Holding both American and Italian citizenship, he has lived and worked in Italy for the past twenty-three years where, as an associate professor at a small liberal arts college in Rome, he specialized in Italian theater and film while also teaching courses in scriptwriting and adapting literature to the screen.

Marmorstein started out writing plays immediately upon receiving his M.A. in Italian Studies from Middlebury College. His two full-length Italianate farces, The Abductors and Big Deals, were produced in Santa Cruz, California, and his one-act play, Joyride, found success in San Francisco and New York City. As a screenwriter, five of his feature length scripts have been optioned, three of which were either winners or finalists in prominent screenwriting contests. His crime drama, Ferryman’s Grotto, set in the hills of central Italy, and his musical drama, One Night in Asbury Park, were also honored as quarterfinalists and semifinalists, respectively, in the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting competition.

In addition, Marmorstein has co-produced two award-winning short documentaries: Uno degli Ultimi, an intimate look into the life of an aging contadino (small farmer) in a dying Italian village, and Beneath the Underdog, a heartfelt look at immigration and soccer in today’s Italy.

Marmorstein now lives in a quaint hilltop village in northern Lazio, just a stone’s throw from the Tuscan and Umbrian borders, with his wife of many years. He has finally abandoned academia to live the good life writing screenplays and novels fulltime.