There are two dramatisations in ‘The Prince and the Mandrake'. It opens with a BBC adaptation of Machiavelli's ‘The Prince' (first published in 1532). This isn't a straightforward dramatisation of the author's political treatise. Rather, it is an imagining by Peter Wolf of the circumstances in which Machiavelli wrote the book and the political ideas behind it. Whereas Machiavelli's book is a guide for rulers on how to gain, maintain and exercise power, differentiating types of state and methods of maintaining control over the populace, this version of ‘The Prince' turns a ruler's manual into a personal story.
And it's very, very good. Theatrical, certainly, but it leans into that vibe with such unfaltering gusto that it can't help but win over listeners. Its biggest selling point is that it stars Ciarán Hinds as Niccolò Machiavelli. The BBC could not have cast a greater actor or someone with the necessary gravitas to embody the Renaissance-era Italian ruler. Hinds had famously played Julius Caesar in HBO's epic production ‘Rome' (2005-07). Having given a career-defining performance in that show, becoming easily the definitive Caesar (it's not even close), Hinds is perfectly placed to play an Italian leader from a later epoch who has both admirers and detractors. Needless to say, Hinds is magnificent throughout, giving a full-throated reading of rather fruity lines.
The focus is on Machiavelli during the period after the Fall of the Florentine Republic, when the powerful Medici family returned to power in Florence. As Machiavelli had written ‘The Prince' in exile, but dedicated it to Lorenzo de' Medici, the drama posits it as Machiavelli's attempt to prove his usefulness to his Medici rulers, but it is nevertheless a political gamble.
The drama has plenty of flights of fantasy and evokes the names of many evil tyrants, not just from the distant past but from the last century too, when there were certainly plenty to choose from. Ciarán Hinds’ performance anchors the drama, portraying Machiavelli as a thoughtful, wounded and pragmatic figure rather than the cynical villain his reputation sometimes suggests. His delivery gives the political arguments emotional weight and humanity.
Combined with strong writing and atmospheric production typical of BBC radio drama of the era (‘The Prince' was broadcast in 2000), the result is an engaging exploration of one of the most influential political works ever written. The audiobook is worth listening to for this reason alone.
Also included on this release is a radio adaptation of ‘The Mandrake'. First performed in Florence in around 1518, Machiavelli's famous play is one of the great comedies of the Italian Renaissance. The play satirises Florentine society and institutions such as marriage, religion and professional authority, showing how easily people can be manipulated through greed, vanity and desire.
Young Florentine Callimaco falls passionately in love with Lucrezia, the beautiful but virtuous wife of an older, foolish lawyer (Nicia). But Lucrezia is faithful and carefully protected by her husband. Callimaco and his resourceful servant Ligurio are left to devise an elaborate scheme to woo her. Their deception involves drinking a potion made from the mandrake root. With his name synonymous with manipulation, ‘The Mandrake' is pure Machiavelli, even if it couldn't be more different in tone from his political treatise ‘The Prince'.
This faithful adaptation was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1967. The cast includes Douglas Wilmer as the foolish husband Messer Nicia. He was famous at the time for playing ‘Sherlock Holmes' on television. The cast also features John Rye as Callimaco and Anthony Jackson as Siro. The sound quality isn't quite as good as ‘The Prince', considering ‘The Mandrake' is from the archives. The dramatisation also has the slight stuffiness and reverence for the source material that was a common feature of radio plays and theatre at the time. Overall, I much preferred the innovative take on ‘The Prince', even though it was only inspired by the source material.
To slip into the mind of one of the Renaissance's most intriguing characters, Niccolò Machiavelli, check out ‘The Prince and The Mandrake'.
Cast: Ciarán Hinds’, Philip Voss, John Rowe, Douglas Wilmer, David March, Hilda Schroder Publisher: Penguin Random House UK audio Publication date: 29th January 2026 Buy Machiavelli's ‘The Prince and the Mandrake'
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