A. N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is a prolific and awarding-winning biographer and celebrated novelist. His most recent novel, Winnie and Wolf, was longlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize. He lives in North London.
Achieves for Dante and Florence what Peter Ackroyd accomplished for Shakespeare and London. Intelligent, personal and suffused with a lifetime's reading and experience, it guides us through 'the boldest work in Western literature'. -- Nicholas Shakespeare Daily Telegraph This is biography done by a novelist at the height of his powers. Wilson moves seamlessly between Dante's life, his poems and the historical context... He has written a loving book that is worthy of the divine poet of love. -- Jonathan Bate Sunday Telegraph Magazine A rich and nuanced life... Wilson is an excellent 21st-century Virgil for anyone who has ever lost their way in Dante's dark wood, or has yet to venture in. -- Sara Bakewell Sunday Times Rich in both biographical detail and political history... A thoroughly readable, illuminating history. -- Fiona Sampson Independent