The Prince

Considered the ‘Koran of the courtiers’, The Prince inspired Mussolini, and served Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and Carlos V. It is therefore a book that has impressed Monarchs, Emperors, Dictators and a Lord Protector. It has also been denounced as the work of the Devil and Old Nick’s book has been read by Catholics and Protestants alike, with both religious factions believing it the work of the other. Written to impress the ruling Medici, it has become the most famous job application letter in history. Machiavelli’s revolutionary work broke with the past by daring to say what scholars had only previously thought. But what was his radically divisive message that has spawned passionate detractors and supporters? While his work gave us the maxim ‘the end justifies the means’ and the allegory of the fox and the lion, his deceptively simple language has given way to a complex debate that rages to this day. This striking edition then, uniquely offers an extensive foreword outlining the legacy and far-reaching impact of Machiavelli’s politically dangerous book. “One of literature’s most notorious and misread books.” Mark Colenutt