O that fine octagonal face of his–the great dark thoughtful eyes–the straight broad nose pointed at its low tip–the wide firm mouth with its full lower lip, curbed by the very thin bow of the upper–the very square strong jaw–the expression insolent because modest, imperious because shy, –but a face which could smile. And O the robust and generous young form, noble and opulent in contour–the ardent force restrained of him. To me, from the beginning, he was something apart, an individual whom one must either abhor, or adore–nothing else–and, as I saw him close for the first time, staring at him quite unreservedly, I knew what my feelings were.

Here, presented for the first time in paperback format, is Amico di Sandro, the unfinished novel by Frederick Rolfe, a.k.a. Baron Corvo, dealing with the rambunctious life of Sandro Botticelli.

An eccentric tale of art and Renaissance times for the connoisseur.