“In the tradition of the best historical fiction, Gigi Berardi takes a little-known woman with a life shrouded in mystery and imagines the emotional glue for a riveting story. As the alchemy of Berardi’s writing breathes life into the alchemy of Bianca’s cure, you will be held under her spell.”

— Jude Berman, author of The Vow, a 2024 Kirkus Best Indie Book

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“‘Call me Bianca, my own name.’  Bianca is called many things throughout her life—pretty girl, witch, wife, married woman, whore, mother—yet calls herself a healer, alchemist, and woman scientist. In this story of her dedication and relentless pursuit of a cure for the heat disease, Gigi Berardi’s voice-driven narrative skillfully describes the tortuous path a woman scientist takes to do her work and at the same time manage children, household, and realm. Readers of both historical fiction and science will enjoy this unforgettable tale.”

—Ruth Sofield, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, College of the Environment, Western Washington University and coauthor of Introduction to Environmental Toxicology

“Bianca’s Cure is two books. The first one hundred pages reveal the alchemy of artemisia. The rest unfold the depth of distrust, pain, and anger that come from the complicated circumstances of Bianca’s life. In the garden and laboratory, peace and productivity reign, but even then, there is death and pain just outside the gate. Gigi Berardi imagines the world of Bianca as it must have been for her work to survive in Renaissance Florence.”

—Carolyn Brantigan, visual artist

“Bianca Cappello, the legendary Venetian noblewoman—first the lover, then the wife of Francesco I de’ Medici—is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures of the Florentine Renaissance. Gigi Berardi brings her to life with striking clarity in this remarkable work, where Bianca is reborn with her passions, her loves, and her rebellious spirit; poised between historical truth and narrative invention. A modern woman: ambitious, educated, and independent in a world that wasn’t ready for her. A tale of love, alchemy, and power.”

 —Stefano Corazzini, author of A Medici in Love

“This book is for all the girls and women who were told they could never become a scientist because they were born female.  Bianca’s Cure will transport you back to the Renaissance where you will marvel at Bianca’s grit, passion, and ingenuity. In the process, you might re-discover your own.”

—Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases & Global Public Health, UC San Diego. Author of The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save her Husband from a Deadly Superbug.

“At the heart of Bianca’s mission to cure deadly malaria stands a plant that still attracts considerable scientific attention today: Artemisia annua. Caught between the patriarchal society of the Renaissance and her passion for scientific work, she finds an unconventional love that allows her to pursue her goals.”

—Ruth Lydia Richter, Botanist, Natural Science section at the Goetheanum (CH) and author of “Artemisia annua, a Traditional Plant Brought to Light”

“Navigating the Medici court in Renaissance Florence was not for the faint of heart. Neither was curing malaria. Determined to prevail in both despite threats and innumerable obstacles, Bianca in Bianca’s Cure inspires those who dare!”

—Esther Erman, author of Rebecca of Salerno: A Novel of Rogue Crusaders, a Jewish Female Physician, and a Murder