The Viper of Milan

'The Viper of Milan' is a historical novel by the British writer Marjorie Bowen. Written when she was sixteen, it received a number of rejections from publishers before its eventual publication. Once published, it proved to be a bestseller and launched Bowen on a prolific career that involved many popular successes. Set in Renaissance Italy during the fourteenth century, the novel portrays the relentless rivalry between Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, and Mastino della Scala, a dispossessed ruler of Verona.