Dante's New Lives
Biography and Autobiography
Numerous books have attempted to chronicle the life of Dante Alighieri, yet essential questions remain unanswered. How did this self-taught Florentine become the celebrated author of the Divine Comedy? Was his exile from Florence so extraordinary? How did Dante make himself the main protagonist in his works, in a literary context that advised against it? And why has his life interested so many readers? In Dante's New Lives, eminent scholars Elisa Brilli and Giuliano Milani answer these questions and many more. Their account reappraises Dante's life and work by assessing archival and literary evidence and examining the most recent scholarship. The book is a model of interdisciplinary biography, as fascinating as it is rigorous.
Giuliano Milani is professor of medieval history at the Université Gustave Eiffel in Paris, France.
Elisa Brilli is professor of Italian and medieval studies at the University of Toronto.
Mary Maschio is a PhD student in medieval studies at the University of Toronto.
Eva Plesnik is a PhD student in medieval studies at the University of Toronto.
