Caitlin Schneiderhan on genre crossovers in Medici Heist

And who should play Michelangelo in a movie.

By Tacye Last updated Jul 18, 2024

We always love a good heist story but one set in a historical fiction is very rare to come by. This is where Medici Heist comes in. Caitlin Schneiderhan’s story is set in 1517 Florence, and features a crew stronger than the Ocean Eleven group, as they try to rob the Medici family. Today we are honoured to have Caitlin Schneiderhan chat with us about creating her own universe and ignoring historical accuracy.

Being a TV writer, how does that experience help in writing Medici Heist? And were there any unexpected difficulties?

Screenwriting hinges on many of the same things that novel-writing does (character, tone, theme), but it places a lot more weight on structure — there are a lot more consistencies in the rhythm of how the plot of a movie or a TV episode unfolds than in a novel. And since Medici Heist actually began its life as a screenplay, I was able to implement all the lessons that had been drilled into my head about story structure when I was putting together the outline for Medici-Heist-the-book.

But the other thing about screenwriting is that it’s such a bare-bones medium. Directing on the page is discouraged — that’s the job of the director, after all. But in setting out to write this book, I had to learn to become that director (and that cinematographer, locations manager, costume designer, casting director, etc…) It was stressful at first, but ultimately very fun and freeing!

And how does it feel building your own world instead of writing a story from the Stranger Things Universe? Which part did you enjoy the most when creating your own universe?

Writing for Stranger Things — writing for pretty much any American TV show — is a group project. You’re one part of a team that’s been assembled to get the story off the ground. Diving into Medici Heist was intimidating because I didn’t have a group of geniuses to bounce ideas off of. Whatever wound up on the page would be my fault. But even though that was a daunting change, I wound up finding a lot of freedom in going solo.

Was it slightly easier given that 1517 Florence was at least a real time period?

It was easier and harder at the same time! If I’d had the ability to create a fantasy world whole-cloth, I probably would have spent a lot less time at the library and on Google, frantically searching phrases like “Renaissance Florence girl’s names” and “breakfast foods 1517 Tuscany”.

In fact, what makes a historical fiction and heist book crossover work so well and why haven’t we seen more of this genre already?

One of the reasons that heist plots are so fun is because they revolve around people accomplishing the impossible in ways we don’t see coming. Setting a heist in a historical context means that the mission seems even more impossible to our modern eyes (how does a team of people coordinate and communicate without cell phones? Walkie-talkies? Telegraph?!), which means that the ways the characters overcome obstacles has to be even more creative and come even more out of left field. It’s the best kind of rollercoaster there is, because you don’t get nauseous, and I couldn’t begin to tell you why there aren’t more of them — I hope there will be!

And let’s discuss this setup. Why did you pick 1517 Florence? When did you learn about the House of Medici?

This whole idea sprung from a trip to Italy I took with my family back in 2014! I was trailing around Florence, taking in all this gorgeous art and architecture, and for whatever reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something. So I started researching the history of the city — which is inextricably entwined with the history of the Medici family. And because I’m equal parts history nerd and Ocean’s Eleven fan, once those pieces started to fall into place, the premise of this story came into focus. I scribbled out the basic outline on the plane ride back to California… and then shoved it in a drawer until I could figure out what to do with it.

How did you decide on how much historical accuracy there should be? Was it daunting to reinvent well-known figures such as Michaelangelo?

Listen, I’ll be the first to admit that this book leans way more heavily into the fiction side of “historical fiction”. When I originally came up with this idea, it was in the form of an action-adventure movie, along the lines of The Mummy or A Knight’s Tale — swashbuckling and fun were my watchwords. As long as readers are having a good time, I’ve done my job.

As far as Michelangelo goes, I wouldn’t even necessarily say this was a reinvention! His ambivalent feelings toward the Medici family are all a matter of record. But I will also say — if Ever After can reimagine Leonardo da Vinci as a fairy godmother, then I can make Michelangelo do a heist.

And finally, if this was adapted into a movie/show, who is playing Michelangelo?

Mark Ruffalo. Accept no substitutes.