Bellarion the Fortunate: A Romance

A convent-educated orphan steps out of the monastery gates into a world he has never known, and the lesson plan he finds there is nothing like the scholarly curriculum he expected. Bellarion leaves the monastery at Cigliano bound for Pavia, seeking knowledge, but the road to learning runs through thieves, rogues, and political intrigue that will test every ounce of his wit and courage. A chance encounter with a false friar pulls him into misadventure that leaves him accused of crimes he didn't commit, fleeing through the gardens of Casale and into the orbit of a princess whose favor may be his salvation or his ruin. What begins as a simple journey toward scholarship becomes a dazzling education in survival, deception, and love in Renaissance Italy.