Additional information
by Martín Caparrós (Author)
Una novela de aventuras que retrata el delito internacional más insólito de la historia del arte, protagonizada por la enigmática figura del estafador argentino Marqués de Valfierno.
«Una exquisita e inteligente mirada en torno a la identidad, la clase y el arte, todo en una historia intrigante basada en hechos reales .--Kirkus
On August 22, 1911, the world was shocked by an unthinkable and audacious crime: Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, disappeared from the walls of the Louvre. While artists such as Picasso and Apollinaire were suspected of the theft, no arrests were made. Two years later an Italian, Vincenzo Peruggia, was detained when trying to sell the Mona Lisa to an antiques dealer in Florence--but the mystery of the theft itself was never satisfactorily resolved. In his spellbinding novel, Martín Caparrós tackles this enigma, presenting us with a fascinating criminal unable to go to his grave without divulging the details of his outrageous heist. In tantalizing conversations with an American journalist, the Marqués de Valfierno sheds light on his past secrets, including his sordid origins as Bollino, son of a Buenos Aires servant woman, a man ultimately transformed into the most notorious con artist in the world. A sly and consummate entertainer, Valfierno reveals the shifting identities of the anonymous Argentine boy who has gone on to become a veritable artist, creating for himself the perfect role of wealthy aristocrat in Belle Époque, Paris, as he prepares for his crime. Featuring an engaging cat-and-mouse drama with unforgettable characters, this is a brilliant fictionalization of the greatest theft of the twentieth century, as well as a compelling psychological portrait of a true mastermind.
Author Biography
Martín Caparrós (Buenos Aires, 1957) se licenció en historia en París, vivió en Madrid, Nueva York y Barcelona, hizo -y sigue haciendo- periodismo en gráfica, radio y televisión, dirigió revistas de libros y revistas de cocina, tradujo a Voltaire, a Shakespeare y a Quevedo, recibió la beca Guggenheim, los premios Planeta y Herralde de novela, los premios Tiziano Terzani y Caballero Bonald de ensayo, los premios Rey de España y Moors Cabot de periodismo. Ha publicado más de treinta libros en más de treinta países. Muchos de ellos serán reeditados en la Biblioteca Martín Caparrós, que Literatura Random House lanzó en 2020 -y donde ya aparecieron las novelas Sinfín y Un día en la vida de Dios, y el ensayo El Hambre.
