Sarah Dunant
By the end of the fifteenth century, the beauty and creativity of Italy is matched by its brutality and corruption, nowhere more than in Rome and inside the Church. When Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia buys his way into the papacy as Alexander VI, he is defined not just by his wealth or his passionate love for his illegitimate children, but by his blood: He is a Spanish Pope in a city run by Italians. If the Borgias are to triumph, this charismatic, consummate politician with a huge appetite for life, women, and power must use papacy and familyâ€”in particular, his eldest son, Cesare, and his daughter Lucreziaâ€”in order to succeed.,Cesare, with a dazzlingly cold intelligence and an even colder soul, is his greatestâ€”though increasingly unstableâ€”weapon. Later immortalized in Machiavelliâ€™s ,The Prince, ,he provides the energy and the muscle. Lucrezia, beloved by both men, is the prime dynastic tool. Twelve years old when the novel opens, hers is a journey through three marriages, and from childish innocence to painful experience, from pawn to political player.
Historical,Historical Fiction,Fiction,Historical,Cultural,Italy,Literature,15th Century,Audiobook,Adult,Adult Fiction,Religion,Literary Fiction
Blood & Beauty: The Borgias