Laurent Binet was born in Paris in 1972. His first novel, HHhH, was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times and received the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman. His other novels include The Seventh Function of Language and Civilizations.

Sam Taylor is an award-winning literary translator and novelist. He has translated more than sixty books from the French, including Laurent Binet's HHhH and David Diop's Beyond the Door of No Return.

"[An] entertaining whodunnit . . . stuffed with real-life Renaissance artists behaving badly . . . Sam Taylor's translation, superb throughout, reaches its apogee in Cellini's joyously scandalous voice . . . [A] thorough success . . . A dazzling romp." --Steven Poole, The Guardian

"Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this . . . [Perspective(s) has] surprising twists, exciting action and a satisfying denouement. Binet hasn't short-changed us on the fun, and it doesn't matter that some of the events are fudged or wholly invented. Binet projects such mastery of the period, his correspondents ranging from proletarian plotters to Catherine de' Medici, queen of France, that you swallow it all." --George Cochrane, The Telegraph (5/5 stars)

"Seriously silly and immensely enjoyable. . . Compelling . . . It's one of Binet's achievements that the convoluted politics of Renaissance Europe underpin the plot of his novel without overshadowing it." --Thomas Jones, London Review of Books

"[Perspective(s)] has all the elements of a classic mystery, put together by a knowing hand that is at once respectful of the genre and dexterous enough to be playful . . . The sublime and the sensational combine as art theory is put to work in the service of catching criminals . . . Racy and enjoyable." --Edward Wilson-Lee, The Times (London)

"[Perspective(s)] blends the postmodern playfulness of Umberto Eco with the vigor of Dashiell Hammett . . . Binet's novels [are] full-blown alternate histories in which he has let loose the reins of his imagination . . . [Binet] is also skilled at fast-paced narrative . . . funny and very gripping." --Magdalena Miecznicka, Financial Times

"A tight, fast-paced, well-managed whodunnit . . . Postmodern playfulness with an underlying message is what we have come to expect from Binet . . . Entertaining . . . Lyrical." --Russell Williams, Times Literary Supplement

"A crackerjack depiction of [Renaissance] political intrigue . . . Binet masterfully weaves together the story's multiple threads. Readers will be captivated.--Publishers Weekly