"An impressive demonstration, a genuine tour de force, of comprehensive research and analysis involving frequently difficult, sometimes contradictory documentation, which the author successfully reconciles into a comprehensive whole....An impressive work, rich in detail and interpretation, which will be of interest not only to students of Lucca and Tuscany but also to anyone with a concern for the history of the Italian Renaissance in general."--Speculum

"The product of years of assiduous research in the archives, and a comprehensive reading of the secondary literature on Tuscan city-states, his book is remarkable for the solidity of its documentary base, and the range of problems that it explores."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"[The book] is undoubtedly a pivotal contribution to the history of an underappreciated city."--HISTORY

"[A] stimulating and comprehensive portrait of fifteenth-century Luccan society that will no doubt serve as the point of departure for further research."--Renaissance Quarterly