author
Edgcumbe Staley
1845–1903
Known for lively history books on Renaissance Italy and European courts, this British writer turned dense archival material into dramatic stories of families, cities, and power. His work ranges from Florence and Venice to studies of painters and noble households.
4 Audiobooks
King René d'Anjou and His Seven Queens
by Edgcumbe Staley
The Tragedies of the Medici
by Edgcumbe Staley
Franz Hals
by Edgcumbe Staley
The dogaressas of Venice (the wives of the doges)
by Edgcumbe Staley
About the author
Born in Southport in 1845, Edgcumbe Staley was a British clergyman and author. He was the son of Thomas Nettleship Staley, who later became the first Anglican Bishop of Honolulu, and he was educated in part by his father.
Staley is best remembered for popular historical works centered on Italy and its ruling families. His books include The Tragedies of the Medici, The Guilds of Florence, The Dogaressas of Venice, and Lords and Ladies of the Italian Lakes, all of which show his strong interest in Renaissance politics, ceremony, and everyday social life.
He also wrote on art and biography, helping general readers approach subjects that might otherwise have felt remote or academic. He died in 1903, but his books still attract readers who enjoy richly detailed narrative history with a strong sense of place.