Overview

No hero is a hero to his valet... (Goethe) ...not because he is no hero, but because his valet is a valet. (Hegel) ""On the Road with Descartes"" is a humorous novel (75,000 words), aimed at both an adult and young-adult audience, composed of 15 chapters, each set in a different place (from Paris to Berlin, from Madrid to London, etc.) at a different date (from 1180 to 1932). The novel blends humorous genre with historical fiction genre, but is definitely aimed at readers who want to have fun, and are not too concerned with historical verisimilitude. It is written in a refined and ironic style, which can be appreciated by an intelligent audience. The novel belongs to that kind of humorous genre whose greatest representative is P. G. Wodehouse, and will probably be appreciated by those who appreciate the great humorist. Maybe it's that rare beast in literature today - the truly funny novel. And it may be that, in a market flooded with crime, mystery, horror, fantasy, and romance novels, a clever funny book that makes them laugh is exactly the hard-to-find object many readers are looking for. The story begins in Paris, in 1625. René Descartes, the great philosopher and mathematician, in the course of his studies on the structure of the universe, has created an extraordinary device that allows him to move at will through space-time. Thus, he starts an incredible series of journeys, accompanied by his secretary Louis, who accurately records in a diary the adventures of the unlikely couple. During their journeys, they encounter the most disparate characters, from Ludwig II of Bavaria to Napoleon, from Isabella of Castile to Robespierre, and many others, all described by Louis through the distorting lenses of his down-to-earth view of life. As in P.G. Wodehouse the comedy arises from the contrast in intelligence and culture between Bertram Wooster and Jeeves, in ""On the Road with Descartes"" the funniness arises from the contrast between the abstract and brilliant Descartes, his prosaic and ordinary secretary Louis, and the historical figures they encounter, who have a mindset and objectives entirely different from those of the pair. On the other hand, comedy also arises from Louis's attempts to live as dull and quietly as possible, while Descartes constantly gets him into trouble, eventually involving him in a duel with certain Athos, Porthos and Aramis, after which the poor secretary's diary is interrupted, and so is the novel. This is the complete list of places, dates and characters: Paris, 1625. Meeting Descartes Toledo, 1580. Philip II of Spain Paris, 1772. Voltaire Berlin, 1756. Frederick II of Prussia Königsberg, 1775. Kant Braunschweig, 1180. Frederick Barbarossa Vienna, 1786. Mozart Paris, 1794. Robespierre Wolfsburg, 1869. Taylor Munich, 1869. Ludwig II of Bavaria Berlin, 1932. Nefertiti Seville, 1492. Isabella of Castile Florence, 1799. Napoleon London, 1601. Elizabeth I of England Paris, 1625. Athos, Porthos, Aramis The author: Stefano Nocentini is a cosmopolitan Tuscan, PhD in Physics, working as a business executive (IBM and Volkswagen); in spite of that (or, maybe, because of that), his main interests have always been literature and history. He loves reading and writing; he appreciates compelling plots, boundless imagination, freedom and originality of expression, subtle irony, and beautiful language. He currently lives in Lecco, not far from Milan. Previously, he lived in Rome, Florence, the United States (White Plains NY), and Germany (Frankfurt, Brunswick). He has published eight novels and three historical essays, in Italian. ""On the Road with Descartes"" is his first English novel.

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