Vincent Cronin was educated at Ampleforth College, Harvard University, and Trinity College, Oxford, from which he graduated with honours in 1947. In addition to being a recipient of a W.H. Heinemann Award (1955) and a Rockefeller Foundation Award (1958), Cronin is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His works have been widely translated into European languages. He died in January 2011, aged 86.

"An evocative picture of Rome at the turn of the sixteenth century... the account of Michelangelo is particularly memorable. At the same time Mr Cronin places the Renaissance firmly in its historical, political and religious setting... The book is beautifully written, and in his discussion of such artists as Titian and Giorgione Cronin shows a rare talent for describing and dissecting paintings." Observer "It is Mr Cronin's outstanding achievement to have given this truly chaotic period a form which makes it intelligible - but without distorting its meaningthrough over-simplification." Daily Telegraph