Rushdie's sensual novel, spanning East and West, history and fable, counterpointing Mughal India and Renaissance Florence and finding uncanny similarities. Controversially omitted from this year's Man Booker shortlist, but sure to be a paperback bestseller nonetheless. 'For Rushdie, as for the artists he writes about, the pen is a magician's wand. There is more magic than realism... but it is I think one of his best. If )The Enchantress Of Florence( doesn't win this year's Man Booker I'll curry my proof copy and eat it' The reviewer from the )Financial Times( may now be suffering from indigestion.....

"A romance of beauty and power from Italy to India . . . so delightful an homage to Renaissance magic and wonder."-Michael Dirda, "The Washington Post Book World" "This is 'history' jubilantly mixed with postmodernist magic realism."-Joyce Carol Oates, "The New York Review of Books" "A baroque whirlwind of a narrative . . . [Rushdie helps] us escape from the present into a dreamlike past that ultimately makes us more aware of the dangers and illusions of our everyday lives."-Alan Cheuse, "Chicago Tribune" "Brilliant . . . Rushdie's sumptuous mixture of history and fable is magnificent."-Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Guardian" (London) "For Rushdie, as for the artists he writes about, the pen is a magician's wand. . . . One of his best [novels]."-John Sutherland, "Financial Times" "[A] prodigious fever dream of a book."-Lisa Shea, "Elle" "Beyond its magical razzle-dazzle lays a work of steely contemporary resonance, rich in sly