Leoni, Giulio 1951–

PERSONAL:

Born August 12, 1951, in Rome, Italy. Education: Earned bachelor's degree.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Rome, Italy. E-mail—giulio.leoni@istruzione.it.

CAREER:

Writer and poet. Worked in human resources for the Italian government.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Premio Alberto Tedeschi, 2000, for Dante Alighieri e i delitti della Medusa.

WRITINGS:

Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

NOVELS

La donna sulla luna, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2001.

E trentuno con la morte, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2003.

Il trionfo della volontà, Aliberti (Verbania, Italy), 2005.

La compagnia dei serpenti: Il deserto degli spettri, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2006.

La compagnia dei serpenti: Il sepolcro di Gengis Khan, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2007.

"DANTE ALIGHIERI" SERIES

Dante Alighieri e i delitti della Medusa, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2000.

I delitti del mosaico, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2004, translation by Anne Milano Appel published as The Mosaic Crimes, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2006, also published as The Third Heaven Conspiracy, Harvill Secker (London, England), 2006.

I delitti della luce, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2005.

La crociata delle tenebre, Mondadori (Milan, Italy), 2007.

Editor of literary quarterly Simbola.

SIDELIGHTS:

Giulio Leoni is an Italian writer and poet whose writings are often set in his hometown of Rome and feature historic Italian figures, such as Dante Alighieri. Leoni worked in the human resources department of a large government organization after finishing his bachelor's degree in arts and literature. While doing this, he edited the quarterly poetry journal, Simbola. He stated on his home page: "Evidently administration wasn't in my stars, since I was much more involved with the darker sides of legends and improbabilities. And, mainly, in the pleasure of narrating." He left his job and began writing full time.

In 2006 his novel, Delitti del Mosaico, was translated into English by Anne Milano Appel and published as The Mosaic Crimes. Famed poet Dante Alighieri has been recently assigned as the prior of Florence, where he works to solve the murder of a master mosaicist of the Builders' Guild who was supervising the reconstruction of a church. A contributor to Publishers Weekly called it "a well-researched labyrinth of medieval Italian history and politics." A Kirkus Reviews critic thought that "readers will be either charmed or irritated by … Leoni's characterization of the poet as a cranky, sometimes obtuse genius." Laura A.B. Cifelli, writing in the Library Journal, concluded: "Elegantly written and beautifully translated, the language is descriptive without being flowery, smart without being pedantic."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2006, review of The Mosaic Crimes, p. 1156.

Library Journal, December 1, 2006, Laura A.B. Cifelli, review of The Mosaic Crimes, p. 100.

Philadelphia Inquirer, April 1, 2007, Frank Wilson, review of The Mosaic Crimes.

Publishers Weekly, October 23, 2006, review of The Mosaic Crimes, p. 34.

ONLINE

Giulio Leoni Home Page,http://www.giulioleoni.it (August 21, 2007), author biography.

Green Man Review,http://www.greenmanreview.com/ (August 21, 2007), Donna Bird, review of The Mosaic Crimes.

OperaNarrativa.com,http://www.operanarrativa.com/ (July 25, 2006), author interview.

Thriller,http://www.thrillermagazine.it/ (August 21, 2007), Elio Marracci, author interview.