Blood and Beauty: The Borgias – A Novel. Sarah Dunant. Random House, Inc. July 2013. 528 pp. hbk. ISBN
#: 9781400069297.
Rodrigo
Borgia, a noble of Spanish descent, in 1492 wins a majority of votes carefully
cultivated among the College of Cardinals, the vote that would mandate the rest
of his life be spent as Pope Alexander VI.
Totally besotted with his own children, Juan, Cesare, and Lucrezia, and
endeared to his former and present lover, Alexander will spend the remainder of
his life manipulating, severing and unifying the bonds of these faithless and
troubled children. One can imagine what
it was like to technically not exist as the children of a Pope and yet to live
in the opulent lifestyle of what seemed like limitless power of the Borgia
clan.
The
Borgias have as many enemies as supporters and it’s Alexander’s job to keep his
finger on the pulse of the yet to be enacted secret plots. While this is happening, Juan and Cesare barely
tolerate each other and Juan’s amorous escapades are the talk of Rome. Cesare has received a church position but
yearns for the life of a military strategist and campaigner. Alexander is trying to secure marriage
betrothals for his children, all meant to secure the loyalty of both friends
and enemies. For Italy is divided as
city-states war with each other, and France has its eye on exploiting the
divisions for its own gain.
A
violent death and a serious illness temporarily devastates Alexander and
gradually Lucrezia inwardly despises her family for using her as a marital tool
and a not very effective one at heading off future conflicts within and outside
of Rome. Revenge must wait while the
all-out war Cesare wages for his father occurs.
The outcome is devastating for so many and stifles all doubts of the strength
of the Borgia clan, including another female warrior leader formerly respected
for her indomitable fierceness and military successes. Yes, there is blood, beauty, lust, violence,
murder, disease and enough verbal altercations to keep the reader rapidly
flipping the pages to the very last word.
Blood and Beauty is a classic work of historical fiction
written in the style of an embellished, thrilling account. The novel also includes vivid descriptions of
the gorgeous art and architecture of Rome, especially within Vatican City. The unique quality of this story lies in
changes wrought by Pope Alexander VI and his Borgia family in an extremely
troubled time in Italian history. Rome
at this time was a dirty, dangerous city that slowly evolved into the
magnificent cultural and sacred icon. The
author presents the immorality of the Borgias without commentary which this reader
finds leads to some interesting reflection on how the Catholic Church operated
in the 15th and 16th centuries. The writing is handled so deftly that one almost
unconsciously dismisses the “right/wrong” issues because one is so caught up
with the machinations of Alexander and Cesare Borgia, not knowing how each
scenario will unfold!
Sarah
Dunant is a superb author of historical fiction. Blood
and Beauty is a memorable, phenomenal account of one of the most notable and
infamous families in world history. Highly,
highly recommended – and there is more Borgia impact to come which this
reviewer eagerly anticipates!
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