Best Books on the Renaissance

1.
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
by: Ross King
3.91 avg rating — 27,849 ratings
2.
The Prince
The Prince 3.84 avg rating — 371,403 ratings
3.
The Life of Elizabeth I
The Life of Elizabeth I 4.03 avg rating — 32,631 ratings
4.
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
The Six Wives of Henry VIII 4.12 avg rating — 72,137 ratings
5.
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy 3.93 avg rating — 3,148 ratings
6.
The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall
The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall 3.87 avg rating — 8,388 ratings
7.
The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization, #5)
The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization, #5) 4.26 avg rating — 1,317 ratings
8.
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern 3.87 avg rating — 34,485 ratings
9.
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love 3.75 avg rating — 30,046 ratings
10.
Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Queen of Scots 3.99 avg rating — 17,292 ratings
11.
The Wives of Henry VIII
The Wives of Henry VIII 4.11 avg rating — 18,966 ratings
12.
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare 3.87 avg rating — 10,656 ratings
13.
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age 3.83 avg rating — 12,692 ratings
14.
The Lives of the Artists
The Lives of the Artists 3.77 avg rating — 32,497 ratings
15.
The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici
The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici 4.07 avg rating — 2,809 ratings
16.
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
by: Ross King
3.84 avg rating — 38,393 ratings
17.
Collected Works
Collected Works 4.38 avg rating — 224 ratings
18.
Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France
Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France 3.96 avg rating — 8,375 ratings
19.
Shakespeare's Sonnets
Shakespeare's Sonnets 4.25 avg rating — 110,514 ratings
20.
The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant, #5)
The Daughter of Time (Inspector Alan Grant, #5) 3.89 avg rating — 37,197 ratings
21.
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance 4.10 avg rating — 4,792 ratings
22.
Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy
Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy 3.72 avg rating — 4,657 ratings
23.
Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne
Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne 4.01 avg rating — 15,666 ratings
24.
Henry VIII: The King and His Court
Henry VIII: The King and His Court 4.10 avg rating — 14,388 ratings
25.
A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599
A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 4.08 avg rating — 4,227 ratings
26.
Death in Florence: The Medici, Savonarola and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance City
Death in Florence: The Medici, Savonarola and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance City 3.92 avg rating — 818 ratings
27.
The Book of the Courtier
The Book of the Courtier 3.61 avg rating — 2,745 ratings
28.
The Italian Renaissance (American Heritage Library Series)
The Italian Renaissance (American Heritage Library Series) 3.75 avg rating — 465 ratings
29.
Utopia
Utopia 3.55 avg rating — 80,685 ratings
30.
Shakespeare: The World as Stage
Shakespeare: The World as Stage 3.82 avg rating — 48,084 ratings
31.
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I 4.16 avg rating — 7,058 ratings
31.
Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen
Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen 3.83 avg rating — 139 ratings
33.
The Waning of the Middle Ages
The Waning of the Middle Ages 4.03 avg rating — 4,252 ratings
34.
The Riverside Shakespeare
The Riverside Shakespeare 4.53 avg rating — 4,687 ratings
35.
The Return of Martin Guerre
The Return of Martin Guerre 3.76 avg rating — 5,134 ratings
36.
Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII 1547-1558
Children of England: The Heirs of King Henry VIII 1547-1558 4.01 avg rating — 15,352 ratings
37.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance
The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
38.
Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World
Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World 3.86 avg rating — 908 ratings
39.
Leonardo and the Last Supper
Leonardo and the Last Supper
by: Ross King
3.93 avg rating — 2,983 ratings
40.
Murder of a Medici Princess
Murder of a Medici Princess 3.94 avg rating — 1,333 ratings
41.
April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici
April Blood: Florence and the Plot against the Medici 3.76 avg rating — 986 ratings
42.
Renaissance Woman: The Life of Vittoria Colonna
Renaissance Woman: The Life of Vittoria Colonna 3.83 avg rating — 115 ratings
43.
Elizabeth and Essex
Elizabeth and Essex 3.74 avg rating — 564 ratings
44.
The Elizabethan World Picture: A Study of the Idea of Order in the Age of Shakespeare, Donne and Milton
The Elizabethan World Picture: A Study of the Idea of Order in the Age of Shakespeare, Donne and Milton 3.81 avg rating — 825 ratings
45.
The Duchess of Malfi
The Duchess of Malfi 3.63 avg rating — 18,350 ratings
45.
The Princes in the Tower
The Princes in the Tower 3.87 avg rating — 7,643 ratings
47.
Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages
Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,063 ratings
47.
Women of the Renaissance
Women of the Renaissance 3.62 avg rating — 74 ratings
49.
The Weaker Vessel
The Weaker Vessel 3.92 avg rating — 1,424 ratings
50.
The Pope's Daughter: The Extraordinary Life of Felice Della Rovere
The Pope's Daughter: The Extraordinary Life of Felice Della Rovere 3.74 avg rating — 646 ratings
51.
The Renaissance Bazaar: From the Silk Road to Michelangelo
The Renaissance Bazaar: From the Silk Road to Michelangelo 3.51 avg rating — 107 ratings
52.
The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World
The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World 3.81 avg rating — 481 ratings
53.
The Deadly Sisterhood: Eight Princesses of the Italian Renaissance
The Deadly Sisterhood: Eight Princesses of the Italian Renaissance 3.38 avg rating — 408 ratings
53.
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric
Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric 3.45 avg rating — 502 ratings
55.
The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King
The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King 3.75 avg rating — 522 ratings
56.
The Borgias: The Hidden History
The Borgias: The Hidden History 3.80 avg rating — 2,399 ratings
57.
The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose
The Complete Poetry and Selected Prose 4.25 avg rating — 3,811 ratings
58.
England Under the Tudors
England Under the Tudors 3.87 avg rating — 276 ratings
59.
Shakespeare and Renaissance Europe
Shakespeare and Renaissance Europe 3.81 avg rating — 16 ratings
60.
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe 4.18 avg rating — 18,438 ratings
61.
The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society
The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Life of the Society 3.55 avg rating — 40 ratings
62.
My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots
My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots
by: John Guy
3.94 avg rating — 5,224 ratings
63.
Art in Renaissance Italy: 1350-1500
Art in Renaissance Italy: 1350-1500 4.06 avg rating — 287 ratings
64.
EXSTATICA Self-Help Essentials: Unleash the Transformative Sparkles of the Renaissance Mantegna Tarot
EXSTATICA Self-Help Essentials: Unleash the Transformative Sparkles of the Renaissance Mantegna Tarot
by: Frank
4.62 avg rating — 24 ratings
65.
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer 4.18 avg rating — 281 ratings
65.
Shakespeare After All
Shakespeare After All 4.39 avg rating — 1,086 ratings
67.
The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age
The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age 4.14 avg rating — 525 ratings
68.
The Marlowe Conspiracy
The Marlowe Conspiracy 3.34 avg rating — 192 ratings
69.
The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Cultural Achievement
The Elizabethan Renaissance: The Cultural Achievement 3.57 avg rating — 21 ratings
70.
The Complete Poems
The Complete Poems 3.84 avg rating — 511 ratings
71.
The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605
The Gunpowder Plot: Terror and Faith in 1605 3.87 avg rating — 1,814 ratings
72.
Die Grundlegung der modernen Welt (Fischer Weltgeschichte #12)
Die Grundlegung der modernen Welt (Fischer Weltgeschichte #12) 3.74 avg rating — 19 ratings
73.
Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence
Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence 3.56 avg rating — 351 ratings
74.
Fischer Weltgeschichte: Entstehung des frühneuzeitlichen Europa 1550 - 1648
Fischer Weltgeschichte: Entstehung des frühneuzeitlichen Europa 1550 - 1648 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings
74.
Lorenzo and Giovanna: Timeless Art and Fleeting Lives in Renaissance Florence
Lorenzo and Giovanna: Timeless Art and Fleeting Lives in Renaissance Florence really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
76.
Machiavelli: A Biography
Machiavelli: A Biography 4.13 avg rating — 338 ratings
77.
Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France
Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France 3.93 avg rating — 58 ratings
78.
Shakespeare and Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story
Shakespeare and Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story 3.98 avg rating — 380 ratings
79.
Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery
Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery
by: Eric Ives
4.05 avg rating — 2,832 ratings
80.
Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford
Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford
by: Julia Fox
3.72 avg rating — 4,235 ratings
81.
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen
The Sisters Who Would Be Queen 3.90 avg rating — 5,763 ratings
82.
Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles
Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles 4.21 avg rating — 5,510 ratings
82.
Shakespeare: For All Time
Shakespeare: For All Time 4.14 avg rating — 65 ratings
84.
Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings
Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings 3.76 avg rating — 10,409 ratings
85.
Searching for Shakespeare
Searching for Shakespeare 4.35 avg rating — 20 ratings
86.
The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance
The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance
by: J.R. Hale
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 19 ratings
87.
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 4.03 avg rating — 3,666 ratings
88.
Women's Roles in the Renaissance
Women's Roles in the Renaissance 3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings
88.
Rewriting the Renaissance: The Discourses of Sexual Difference in Early Modern Europe
Rewriting the Renaissance: The Discourses of Sexual Difference in Early Modern Europe 4.23 avg rating — 13 ratings
90.
Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici
Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici 4.06 avg rating — 960 ratings
91.
Shakespeare's Ideas
Shakespeare's Ideas 3.70 avg rating — 20 ratings
92.
The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age
The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age 4.12 avg rating — 1,663 ratings
93.
The Reformation (The Story of Civilization #6)
The Reformation (The Story of Civilization #6) 4.35 avg rating — 1,165 ratings
94.
History of Italian Renaissance Art, Third Edition
History of Italian Renaissance Art, Third Edition 4.22 avg rating — 1,206 ratings
95.
A Companion to Renaissance Drama
A Companion to Renaissance Drama 3.77 avg rating — 13 ratings
96.
The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama
The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama 3.56 avg rating — 36 ratings
97.
The First Folio of Shakespeare
The First Folio of Shakespeare 4.78 avg rating — 272 ratings
97.
Poison in the Blood: The Memoirs of Lucrezia Borgia
Poison in the Blood: The Memoirs of Lucrezia Borgia 3.40 avg rating — 295 ratings
97.
Christopher Marlowe: A Renaissance Life
Christopher Marlowe: A Renaissance Life 3.53 avg rating — 17 ratings
97.
Florence: A Walking Guide to Its Architecture
Florence: A Walking Guide to Its Architecture 3.14 avg rating — 7 ratings
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