Elizabeth Louise Bernhardt (PhD, University of Toronto) has enjoyed living for many years between Bologna and Rome where the stories of this book unfold. In Italy she has taught courses about her main interests: the history and culture of the Italian family (for the University of California in Rome) and early modern Italian art and artisan history (for the Liceo Classico Giulio Cesare in Rome). There she also published two handbooks about Italian art with Ginevra Bentivoglio Editoria. In her hometown she has taught Italian at Saint Louis University and is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Washington University in St. Louis.

• Illustrations, Tables, Figures And Documents, Abbreviations, Acknowledgements & Dedication, Introduction, Chapter One - Genevra Sforza de' Bentivoglio (ca. 1441-1507): Lost and Found in Renaissance Italy, Chapter Two - Twice Bentivoglio: Genevra Sforza On The Marriage Market (1446-1454 and 1463-1464), Chapter Three - Genevra Sforza And Bentivoglio Family Strategies: Creating And Extending Kinship On A Massive Scale, Chapter Four - Genevra Sforza In Her Own Words: Patron And Client Relationships From Her Correspondence, Chapter Five - The Wheel Of Fortune: Genevra Sforza And The Fall Of The Bentivoglio (1506-1507), Chapter Six - Making and Dispelling Fake History: Genevra Sforza And Her 'Black Legends' (1506-present), Conclusions

"Bernhardt’s fascinating and deeply researched study of Genevra Sforza, ‘first lady’ of fifteenth-century Bologna, rescues its subject from a centuries-old tradition of vilification and makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the gendered role of courtly women and the vital political role of marriage alliance in Renaissance Italian society.” - Sarah Rubin Blanshei "No woman navigated power more adroitly than Ginevra Sforza Bentivoglio. Bernhardt’s deeply-researched and finely-nuanced portrait shows how she took some very weak cards and played a very strong game. While others had formal titles, fawning courtiers, or family ties, GSB had keen instincts about power and survival. Her skills in managing both nearly created a Renaissance dynasty, and generated a lasting 'black legend' of Machiavellian intrigue that is ripped away in this study." - Nicholas Terpstra