Catherine McGrew Jaime

Leonardo Catherine McGrew Jaime

Family-friendly historical fiction: The year is 1513. Life in and around Milan has become difficult for Leonardo (da Vinci) and his assistants, Salai and Francesco. An invitation to move to Rome to work for the Pope's brother is too good an offer to pass up. Preparations have to be made to pack up and sixty year's worth of belongings, including several paintings he hasn't gotten around to "finishing."Leonardo, Salai, and Francesco are accompanied by three other artists for the trip to Rome, one of whom Salai and Francesco become convinced is a spy. Along the way they get to go fossil hunting in mountain caves, check in with several of Leonardo's family members (who are now speaking to him!), and encounter the various stories from in and around Gubbio. Once in Rome, Leonardo enjoys his work minting coins, conducting dissections, and trying to figure out how to drain the Pontine Marshes. He does not enjoy his work on the mirrors project he struggles with for far too long