Leonardo da Vinci: The Melzi Chronicles by J. K. Kulski is the life story of the genius Leonardo da Vinci and how he survived the political intrigues and wars of his time to produce his many inventions, entertainments, and major works of art.  It is about his disappointments and humiliation in Florence, the murder of his sponsor Gian Galeazzo Sforza the young duke of Milan, the effect of the French-Italian wars on his life and work, and how he was pressured to leave his beloved Italy, and to live and die in France in the service of the French king Francois I.  It is a story about his friends and acolytes and his festivities, inventions, paintings, and natural philosophies as an artist, scientist, and legend; told by his friend and secretary, the aristocratic Francesco Melzi who reveals the hidden meanings behind many of his master’s drawings and paintings. It challenges the art historians and debunks the falsehoods, bad memes, and those long held misconceptions about the Maestro and his works. It is a historical novel with references, a bibliography, and 141 colour and black and white images.