Author(s): Richard Yaxley

Senior Fiction | Historical

In the summer of 1465, fourteen-year-old Annalisa de Torriano reluctantly travels with her family to her father’s new estate near the village of Vinci. Although she misses her privileged life, and the wealthy Matteo, in magnificent Florence, Annalisa is soon entranced by the freedom the countryside offers—and by the brilliant and charming young King of the Forest, Leonardo da Vinci, who, alongside his beloved companion Dante, quickly befriends her.
Mesmerised by Leo’s intelligence and beauty, an infatuated Annalisa starts to dream of a different life. But her dreams are an illusion, and as her relationship with Leo unfolds, it is Dante who will change all their lives forever.

Richard Yaxley is the author of eight novels, as well as many short stories and poems. He is a former winner of the Prime Ministers Literary Award and the Queensland Premiers Literary Award, both for Young Adult Literature, and his novel This Is My Song was the 2020 ACU Book of the Year. A secondary school teacher for over thirty years, Richard has master’s degrees in human rights and cultural studies. I