The Creation of the Saint is an unusual novel that reveals to the reader a new side of Somerset Maugham’s talent. The work, based on the “History of Florence” by Niccolò Machiavelli, immerses the reader in the era of the medieval city, a time of political and financial intrigues of influential families, scandalous love affairs and the amazing flowering of science and art. The main character of the fascinating novel “Then and Now” is a famous statesman and the legendary adventurer Niccolo Machiavelli, who entered into a deadly game with the notorious “evil genius” Cesare Borgia.