In August Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti will visit the UK for the first time since publication of the first English translation of their international bestseller, Imprimatur. They are appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival for an event with Kate Mosse, who also achieved international bestseller status with her novel Labyrinth in 2005.

Imprimatur has caused a good deal of controversy across Europe since it was first published in Italy, and authors Monaldi and Sorti claim that the book was withdrawn from bookshop shelves across the country as a direct result of pressure from the Vatican. This anger kindled within the Roman Catholic Church stems from part of the storyline directly based on documents discovered by Monaldi and Sorti in the Vatican Secret Archive and the Italian State Archives. The documents reveal a connection between Pope Innocent XI and William of Orange, a Protestant hero and that a sum of 150,000 scudi (the equivalent of £3.5 million today) was sent to William from Innocent, implying that Innocent was supporting a heretic and enemy of the Church.

In 1672, Louis had occupied the Netherlands. William led the resistance and, allied with Catholic Spain and Austria, drove out the French. Although he was a fellow Roman Catholic, Louis was seen as a threat by Rome. Did Innocent secretly decided to back William?

Despite the problems in Italy, Imprimatur has sold more than a million copies across Europe and has been translated into 37 languages. Now published for the first time in the UK by Polygon the authors are looking forward to making what they see as an extremely worthwhile trip from their home in Austria to be part of this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival.

View EIBF programme for Birlinn and Polygon authors.