The comedies would point in one direction, the tragedies and the sonnets somewhere else; a selection might deliver a Shakespeare "variously courtly, cerebral, metaphysical, melancholic, Machiavellian, neurotic, light-hearted, loving, and much more."

Nothing to argue with there, but take from that list the only word that refers to a proper name, and consider what we know about Niccolo Machiavelli. In its adjectival form, the name means everything from "cunning" to "murderous", and has been applied to just about everyone from Henry Kissinger to Jean Brodie. The reality is more complex, more inflected and, in Ross King's hands, more interesting.

Born 100 years before Shakespeare, Machiavelli leaves us far more information about himself, largely because he lived in a more sophisticatedly documented society and largely because he worked in politics at the very highest level. Like Shakespeare (probably), he grew up in an educated household, the son of a man of influence. A successful lawyer, Bernardo Machiavelli is as fascinating a figure as John Shakespeare, even if it is their sons who concern us.

We know something of Machiavelli's personality, sharp and witty . . . his nickname "Machia" referring to a stain. And we know something of his marriage. It was loving, anxious and unexpectedly modern in the couple's ability to discuss openly their ups and downs.

We know a good deal about Machiavelli's missions to the court of Louis XII and to the pope and we know that his admiration of an enemy, Cesare Borgia, led him to formulate the ideas that received their clearest articulation in Il Principe (The Prince), his manual of effective governance.

It is one of the great books of its time, written with fierce intelligence and humour, but also written from a position of defeat.

In 1512, the Medici dynasty, aided by Pope Julius II, overthrew the Florentine republic. Machiavelli was removed from his position and arrested. He was tortured but denied any guilt in conspiracy and was eventually released to return to his estate at Sant'Andrea where he began to write Il Principe and the republican Discorsi (Discourses).

The latter are less well-known and somewhat discomfiting to the casual observer, as they seem to come from a different political sensibility to The Prince. In fact, Machiavelli makes it clear that his manual on kingship is meaningless without the checks and balances suggested in the Discourses. These are observational works rather than simply theoretical manifestos.

What made Machiavelli a good political scientist is that he was a good historian, with a solid understanding of the law.

King gives us Machiavelli as a real person rather than just a rhetorical device. The book touches on the history and politics of the time (specifically a conflict between Machiavelli's beloved Florence and Pisa) and moments as the attempt to deny the Pisans a workable infrastructure by diverting the course of the River Arno. It describes Machiavelli's contact with Leonardo da Vinci and outlines his literary work as well as his political thinking. It's fascinating stuff, vividly conveyed and brilliantly contextualised.

Hardly a reference goes unglossed.

There have been short biography series before . . . every generation seems to throw up one or two . . . but Eminent Lives are among the very best, expensive in hardback, but worth it for the sheer quality of writing.

Machiavelli: Philosopher of Power Ross
King Harper Collins
/15.50
Brian Morton