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Until 1512, when the Medici family returned to power and Niccolo Machiavelli’s consequent ‘retirement’ gave him leisure in which to write, he was an official of the Florentine chancery. As such Machiavelli travelled on diplomatic missions to the courts of such magnificent rulers as Louis XII, Pope Julius II and Cesare Borgia, and played an active part in the intricate negotiations characteristic of Renaissance diplomacy. In this absorbing biography Professor Hale illustrates the importance of the relationship between Machiavelli’s practical experience and his unique contribution to political theory.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.