Mâna lui Dante

A priest finds a manuscript of the Divine Comedy in the Vatican library. It appears to be in Dante’s own hand. The manuscript reaches a New York mob boss, who calls in writer Nick Tosches to check it. Nick gives in to temptation and steals it.

A second story follows Dante in the fourteenth century. He studies with Isaiah as he works to finish Paradiso. His goal is a poem that holds both human wisdom and divine grace. Seven centuries apart, Dante and Nick share a search for love, God, and perfection.

Mâna lui Dante blends a crime thriller with historical fiction and philosophy. It also plays with the line between author and character. It suits readers drawn to literary crime stories and questions about faith and art. Sacred themes meet the violence and vice of New York. Tosches draws on his knowledge of Dante, the Middle Ages, and the city’s criminal world.

Nick Tosches (1949–2019) was born in Newark, New Jersey. He wrote both fiction and nonfiction. This translation’s original title is In the Hand of Dante. Julian Schnabel has also adapted the novel for film, with Oscar Isaac playing both Dante and Nick.