Machiavelli: The Novel

For all you readers, teachers, and students of Machiavelli:

There’s a wonderful graphic artist up in Boston named Don MacDonald who wrote a graphic novel Machiavelli. The aim of the novel, beyond its aesthetic and literary qualities, is to bring the scholarly knowledge about Machiavelli that we in the academy have been accumulating over the years—about his republicanism, his humanism, his literary excellence—to the public. That Machiavelli was not, as a famous book would have it, a teacher of evil, that he was not especially Machiavellian, and that his teaching was not especially Machiavellian, at least as we’ve come to understand that term.

Anyway, Don is now launching a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise money for the conversion of the novel from an online text, which is what it is now, into a printed text, an e-book, and a website. I don’t often make pitches for you to contribute money, but this is a worthy cause. One that’s especially dear to me, as a teacher and reader of Machiavelli.

Please make a contribution.

6 Comments

  1. Jonathan Dresner May 8, 2014 at 7:56 pm | #

    As a teacher, I love Machiavelli: he’s the perfect one-man introduction to the Renaissance that you need in a World History survey. I’m in.

    • Bill Gio May 8, 2014 at 10:13 pm | #

      Jonathan, I agree with you on your love of Machiavelli, but if you want an introduction to the Renaissance Dante is the man.

      • Jonathan Dresner May 8, 2014 at 11:30 pm | #

        Eh, he’s Ok, but as an historian I like to highlight the nascent social science side of things.

  2. Alto Berto (@AltoBerto) May 9, 2014 at 3:29 am | #

    “his republicanism, his humanism, his literary excellence”

    All of these pale in comparison to the fact that he was honest. His enemies tried to have him disgraced with trumped up charges of stealing from the state only to have the investigation find the state owed him.

    • Don MacDonald (@don_macdonald) May 9, 2014 at 11:04 am | #

      “his republicanism, his humanism, his literary excellence”

      I love this phrasing. I wish I had written it. Thank you so much Corey, for your generous endorsement.

  3. escott May 9, 2014 at 9:42 am | #

    A worthy project. I share your fondness for Machiavelli.

    http://www.booknotes.org/Watch/160904-1/Maurizio+Viroli.aspx

    This is a great interview of Maurizio Viroli, author of Niccolo’s Smile.
    Charles Lamb, the interviewer, allows the author Mourizio Viroli to wax eloquently on Machavelli and his times.

    It effected me enough to read the book and read Machavelli himself.
    .

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