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Acclaimed novelist Rupert Thomson talks about his new work, Secrecy. The novel is set in 17th-century Florence, a city blighted by corruption and austerity. It follows Zummo, a sculptor of figures that are so realistic they look like they might draw breath, and who is summoned to the Medici court and tasked with sculpting a life-size Venus from wax.

Thomson is author of eight novels including Death of a Murderer, which was shortlisted for the 2008 Costa Novel Award. He has also published a memoir, This Party’s Got to Stop.