As the world marks the fifth anniversary of COVID-19, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on how a global crisis reshapes our lives. For author Ken Tentarelli, those reflections took him far deeper into the past—to 14th-century Florence, during the height of the Black Plague. His newest novel, The Blackest Time, explores a world ravaged by an epidemic with no known cause or cure, yet one that mirrors our recent experiences with uncanny clarity.
Ken’s storytelling blends meticulous historical research with human emotion, uncovering the resilience, compassion, and courage that emerge in the darkest of times. From famine and scapegoating to unexpected acts of kindness, his work reminds us that while centuries may pass, human behavior often repeats itself.
An engineer by training and a traveler at heart, Ken found his passion for history during visits to Italy that took him from the Roman Forum to the art-filled streets of Florence. Today, he channels that passion into historical fiction that has earned critical acclaim and a devoted readership.
We sat down with Ken to talk about the inspirations behind The Blackest Time, the surprising parallels between past and present pandemics, and the journey from engineer to award-winning author.
HELLO KEN TENTARELLI, WELCOME TO WORLDAUTHORS.ORG! THE BLACKEST TIME DRAWS PARALLELS BETWEEN THE BLACK PLAGUE AND COVID-19. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO EXPLORE THIS CONNECTION?
Historical fiction writers need to go beyond mere storytelling. Our goal is to recreate historical events and settings in a way that offers readers a window into life in another time. I felt the COVID-19 pandemic offered a lens through which today’s readers could understand the experiences of those who lived during the Black Plague.
We may have learned in school that the Black Plague caused the most horrific time in our history by decimating forty percent of Europe’s population. But few of us know how people of that era coped with that tragedy. In The Blackest Time, readers will discover the similarities and differences between our experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and those of people who lived during the Black Plague.
WHAT WAS THE MOST SURPRISING SIMILARITY YOU FOUND BETWEEN 14TH-CENTURY FLORENCE AND THE MODERN WORLD DURING A PANDEMIC?
It’s easy to assume that people in ancient and medieval times were unsophisticated and primitive, but that assumption would be a mistake. Medieval people lacked the science and technology we enjoy today, so it’s fair to say they lived in primitive times, but I was surprised to discover the extent to which they were like us. They had courage and ambition; they loved, and they shared the same hopes and fears as us.
Compassion is a central theme of The Blackest TIme. Despite knowing they had no cure for the sickness, medieval doctors selflessly exposed themselves to the disease to treat family members, hoping to prevent the illness from spreading. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw first responders display the same heroic actions.
HOW DID YOUR TRAVELS AND STUDIES IN ITALY SHAPE THE AUTHENTICITY OF YOUR STORYTELLING?
The beautiful city of Florence has preserved many structures built during the 1300s. Among them are the famous old bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, the magnificent Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, and palazzos originally built as private homes. Seeing those monuments made me curious to learn about their past. Why are there shops along the length of the Ponte Vecchio? What is the purpose of the tower atop the Palazzo Vecchio? Every site brought to mind questions I needed to answer.
My wife and I studied the Italian language during our time in Perugia and Rome. Knowledge of the language allowed me to read historic documents written in Italian. The Florentine State Archives’ excellent document collection is open to the public and accessible for research. One document I found very helpful was written by a Florentine banker who lived at the time of the Black Plague. He chronicled happenings in the city until he finally succumbed to the plague. His diary provides a clear insight into how people coped with adversity. My travels and study in Italy helped me give readers the authenticity they seek in historical fiction.
GINO LIANI FACES FAMINE, DISEASE, AND INJUSTICE—HOW DID YOU DEVELOP HIS RESILIENCE AS A CHARACTER?
The book begins with Gino leaving his family’s farm to find work in an apothecary shop in Florence. Shortly after he arrived, two years of incessant rain destroyed farm crops. (Although The Blackest Time is fictional, the two-year period of near constant rain resulting in failed crops is an actual historic event.) Gino showed his inner strength through his actions. To reduce the number of people relying on the meager produce of his family’s farm, Gino brought his sister to Florence and found work for her with a prominent family He discovered a woman from his home village who’d been displaced when her farm flooded and was trying to survive by eating wild plants on the hills outside the city. Gino secured a place for her in a shelter run by nuns.
When the plague arrived, people blamed each other for bringing the disease by angering God. A healer who ministered to the indigent was accused of witchcraft. At risk to himself, Gino smuggled her out of the city at night and brought her to a village that had no doctor and was thankful to have someone care for their infirm. Gino arranged a new home for a young girl who’d been orphaned by the plague and left wandering the streets.
Coping with these and other trials, Gino became a responsible adult, no longer a simple farm lad. I see Gino and his actions as symbols representing the people of the time who endured and overcame tremendous adversity.
AS AN ENGINEER TURNED HISTORICAL FICTION AUTHOR, WHAT SPARKED YOUR PASSION FOR WRITING ABOUT HISTORY?
As an engineer, rapidly changing technology held my attention, leaving me little time for the arts. My interest in history didn’t develop until I traveled to Italy. There, I was awed by visiting sites that are hundreds, even thousands of years old. For example, consider the cathedral in Florence. From the start of construction to the completion of the nave took over eighty years. The building was so large that it sat open for another forty years until brilliant architect/engineer Filippo Brunelleschi devised a means to fabricate the huge dome we see topping the cathedral today. It was accomplishments like these that ignited my interest in history.
WHAT WAS THE MOST UNEXPECTED FACT OR STORY YOU UNCOVERED WHILE RESEARCHING THE BLACKEST TIME?
When writing the Nico Argenti series, my research was centered on the Renaissance. Looking further back in time brought me to the Black Plague, and because I knew so little about the events and people of that era, everything I read brought new and surprising discoveries. Of all the problems people dealt with, one really exemplifies the difficulties they faced. At the height of the plague, the daily death toll reached into the thousands, so soon all the cemeteries having consecrated ground were filled. Wood suitable for building coffins was depleted, factories were shuttered so there was no silk for burial shrouds, and, finally, there weren’t enough laborers to dig graves. Civil and religious leaders were forced into action to prevent bodies from accumulating in carts on city streets. Rather than spoil your reading pleasure by telling you how they dealt with these problems, I’ll let you discover their solutions when you read The Blackest Time.
YOU OFTEN WEAVE ITALIAN CULTURE AND HERITAGE INTO YOUR WORK—DO FOOD AND TRADITIONS PLAY A ROLE IN THIS NOVEL AS WELL?
Your question instantly reminded me of how Italian women nowadays plan their meals around the fresh produce they find in the markets each day. That same practice has continued since medieval times. The large central market in Florence, the Mercato Centrale, is similar in character to the city’s central market in the 1300s, although the location has changed over time.
Recipes receive only minor mention in The Blackest Time because the book’s emphasis is on problems caused by the unavailability of food. The officials in Florence’s governing body, the SIgnoria, struggled to keep the failure of farm crops from causing famine in the city. Their goal was to make bread available to the poor by acquiring enough grain and subsidizing the city’s bakers. To do this, the Signoria hired merchants to bring grain from farms in the north and commissioned ships to transport grain from Sicily. They provided grain to bakers who agreed to sell loaves of bread at a low price.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE READERS TAKE AWAY AFTER FINISHING THE BLACKEST TIME?
When I told people I was writing a novel about the Black Plague, their reactions were universally, “Wow, that must be depressing,” but it wasn’t. I hope readers see the story as I do. An uplifting tale of compassion, love, and the resilience of the human spirit.
IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ONE HISTORICAL FIGURE FROM 14TH-CENTURY FLORENCE, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
The first time I saw Sandro Botticelli’s stunning paintings The Birth of Venus and Primavera at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, I couldn’t help but stand and stare at the stunning masterpieces. Botticelli is near the top of the list of historical figures I’d like to meet, but number one on my list is architect Filippo Brunelleschi. As I mentioned earlier, he’s famous for having devised an ingenious approach to building the Florentine cathedral dome, a challenge that had thwarted others for decades. For that achievement, he’s considered the father of Renaissance architecture.
The dome wasn’t Brunelleschi’s only significant accomplishment. He advanced the art world with a new system of perspective, designed a home for ophans that still stands in Florence today, and was granted a patent by the Florentine Republic that is regarded as the first industrial patent. I would love to meet the man with so many talents.
You can find more about Ken and The Blackest Time at kententarelli.com.