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Berkeley University of California Press 1986. 8vo hardcover 138pp b/w illus. very good / very good d/w. In 1455, Lusanna, the beautiful widow of an artisan, brought an ultimately un successful suit against Giovanni, an aristocrat, seeking legal recognition of their clandestine marriage. The author skillfully reconstructs the story of these former lovers. Their dispute, and affair, is amply documented in the sometimes seamy witness testimony contained in Florentine court records. While this case is a highly atypical example of one woman's determined challenge to the social norm, the resultant court battle sheds additional light on Renaissance Florence's class system as well as con temporary legal, moral, and sexual con ventions. This work is a fine example of microhistory, which emphasizes the story of specific events or ordinary peo ple hitherto ignored. Recommended particularly for academic history and women's studies collections. William F. Young, SUNY at Albany Lib. .