“Tremendously entertaining and ‘unapologetic’ in its artistic license, Oil and Marble will remind an older generation of the pleasures of Irving Stone’s art historical fiction, particularly his chronicle of the Sistine Chapel ceiling commission, The Agony and the Ecstasy.”
“In Raphael, Painter in Rome, Stephanie Storey takes one of the most towering figures of the Renaissance and seats him across a tavern table from the reader. Raphael’s voice is as vibrant and colorful as one of his paintings, and he positively leaps off the page and to life.”
Two Art Historical Thrillers Set During the Italian Renaissance
Raphael
Painter in Rome: a Novel. About the rivalry between Raphael and Michelangelo as they go head to head in the halls of the Vatican.
Editor’s Choice from Historical Novels Review
Winner of Earphones Award from AudioFile for outstanding audio book
Currently being translated into two languages (so far!)
Oil and Marble
A Novel of Leonardo & Michelangelo: While Leonardo is painting the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo is just down the street carving the David.
Los Angeles Times Bestseller
One of Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2016
Translated into 6 languages
In development as a feature film by Pioneer Pictures
“Oil and Marble is a magnificent story brimming with an all-star cast of world famous artists conducted by the talent of author Stephanie Storey... An intriguing unforgettable classic piece of historical fiction.”
“A sumptuous, dazzling dive into the world of Italian Renaissance art through the eyes of one of its most celebrated artists... The world of Raphael is one I wanted to linger in forever.”
Buy Oil and marble now from these retailers
Oil and Marble is available in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audio book - in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Czech, Turkish, and coming soon in Russian
(If you order using some of the links below, the author will receive a small extra commission at no extra cost to you!)
“Stephanie Storey’s gorgeous, unputdownable book Raphael: Painter in Rome illuminates the Renaissance and its storied artists in brilliant, page-turning prose. This novel will have readers laughing out loud and cheering for quirky, sweet, playful, unassuming Raphael.””
Buy Raphael Today
Raphael, Painter in Rome is available in Hardcover, e-book, and Audible. It will also coming soon in Czech and Slovakian (check back soon for more languages)
“In Raphael, Stephanie Storey conjures the masters of the Italian Renaissance back to life in full vivid detail... Prepare to be charmed! Your Art History 101 class was never this suspenseful and fun.”
“Before I got to the bottom of the first page, I was completely engrossed in Oil and Marble. I especially liked the way Ms. Storey involved all the great names of the early 16th century in the art of politics and the politics of art. This is an eminently readable tale, with the two giants of art giving the story its heart and soul. A fabulous and fun read.”
“The artistic process can be one of self-doubt, struggle, and sheer physical exertion, and Storey depicts the drama here with truth and insight. A rewarding read for art aficionados and fans of historical fiction.”
Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo
Living at the foot of his misshapen block of marble, Michelangelo struggles until the stone finallybegins to speak. Working against an impossible deadline, he begins his feverish carving.
Meanwhile, Leonardo's life is falling apart: he loses the hoped-for David commission; he can't seem to finish any project; he is obsessed with his ungainly flying machine; he almost dies in war; his engineering designs disastrously fail; and he is haunted by a woman he has seen in the market--a merchant's wife, whom he is finally commissioned to paint. Her name is Lisa, and she becomes his muse.
Leonardo despises Michelangelo for his youth and lack of sophistication. Michelangelo both loathes and worships Leonardo's genius.
In her brilliant debut, Storey brings early 16th-century Florence alive, entering with extraordinary empathy into the minds and souls of two Renaissance masters, creating a stunning art history thriller. From 1501 to 1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming, handsome fifty year-old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-twenties, desperate to make a name for himself.
Michelangelo is a virtual unknown when he returns to Florence and wins the commission to carve what will become one of the most famous sculptures of all time: David. Even though his impoverished family shuns him for being an artist, he is desperate to support them.
Oil and Marble is the story of their
nearly forgotten rivalry.
“With every chip of the chisel and stroke of the brush, Stephanie Storey fashions a mesmerizing tale of the envy, ambition, and artistic genius that drove an epic rivalry.”
“In the end this book is as much a love story as it is an historical narrative of time and place. Leonardo’s love for the muse Lisa and Michelangelo’s loving obsession to create something of great beauty from a block of imperfect stone. Stephanie Storey perfectly describes this artistic love as she paints her own masterpiece in the character of Leonardo.”
“Raphael: Painter in Rome is a breathtaking portrait of a self-portrait. In it, the artist and his vision, drive, eccentricity, earthly loves and rivalries all come to life in brilliant color. Storey captures the way art can be a tangled creature, born both deliberately and subconsciously from a slice of the artist’s life, and the swirl of history, politics, and magical moments.”
“Stephanie Storey paints a warm, witty, mesmerizing portrait of the Renaissance’s most famous painters: the charming Raphael and the irascible Michaelangelo, dueling for the title of greatest artist in Rome... RAPHAEL: PAINTER IN ROME is a feast for the senses, every brushstroke a delight.”
Raphael, Painter in Rome
Michelangelo painting the Sistine Ceiling, while Raphael decorates the pope's private apartments.
As Raphael strives toward perfection in paint, he battles internal demons: his desperate ambition, crippling fear of imperfection, and unshakable loneliness. Along the way, he conspires with cardinals, scrambles through the ruins of ancient Rome, and falls in love with a baker’s-daughter-turned-prostitute who becomes his muse.
With its gorgeous writing, rich settings, endearing characters, and riveting plot, Raphael, Painter in Rome brings to vivid life these two Renaissance masters going head to head in the deadly halls of the Vatican.
Another fabulous art history thriller by the bestselling author of Oil and Marble, featuring the master of Renaissance perfection, Raphael
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling is one of the most iconic masterpieces of the Renaissance. Here, in Raphael, Painter in Rome, Storey tells of its creation as never before: through the eyes of Michelangelo’s fiercest rival—the young, beautiful, brilliant painter of perfection, Raphael. Orphaned at age eleven, Raphael is determined to keep the deathbed promise he made to his father: become the greatest artist in history. But to be the best, he must beat the best, the legendary sculptor of the David, Michelangelo Buonarroti.
When Pope Julius II calls both artists down to Rome, they are pitted against each other:
This new novel tells the story as never before: through the eyes of the brilliant, beautiful, painter of perfection Raphael.
“In Stephanie Storey’s new historical novel, Raphael: Painter in Rome, we experience Raphael not as a towering giant but rather as a lively, engaging friend... You’ll want to have your internet connection ready so that you can look up each and every one of the beautiful works of art described in this engaging tale of ambition, rivalry, and ultimately, the power of art to transcend it all.”