The Borgias

Lucrezia Borgia #1-2

by Jean Plaidy

For the first time in one volume, Jean Plaidy’s duet of Borgia novels brings to life the infamous, reckless, and passionate family in an unforgettable historical saga.

Madonna of the Seven
 
Fifteenth-century the Borgia family is on the rise. Lucrezia’s father is named Pope Alexander VI, and he places his daughter and her brothers Cesare, Giovanni, and Goffredo in the jeweled splendor—and scandal—of his court. From the Pope’s affairs with adolescent girls, to Cesare’s dangerous jealousy of anyone who inspires Lucrezia’s affections, to the ominous birth of a child conceived in secret, no Borgia can elude infamy.

Light on
 
Some said she was an elegant seductress. Others swore she was an incestuous murderess. She was the most dangerous and sought after woman in all of Rome. Lucrezia Borgia’s young life has been colored by violence and betrayal. Now, married for the second time at just eighteen she hopes for happiness with her handsome husband Alfonso. But faced with brutal murder, she's soon torn between her love for her husband and her devotion to her brother Cesare… And in the days when the Borgias ruled Italy, no one was safe from the long arm of their power. Not even Lucrezia.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Italy, Romance, 15th Century, Renaissance

672 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Rio (Lynne) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1 "Madonna of The Seven Hills"

I'm giving part one 4 stars. It covered Lucrezia's childhood, first marriage to Giovanni Sforza and the birth of her bastard son. I am glad this was released as 2 for 1 book, because Lucrezia's life cannot be told by 1 marriage.

Book 2 Light On Lucrezia

Book 2 gets 3 stars. It covers Lucrezia's 2nd and 3rd marriage.

These books are a great basic read to get to know The Borgias. Even though they weren't deep, I enjoyed getting to know the basic facts and recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about this family.

[Elizabeth D · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright but disappointing. It is worth a read if you are a historical fiction lover or fan of the Borgias/time period. However, right about the time that Alexander left the story, the book tanked. It became nothing but endless descriptions of how slender, fair, graceful, innocent and serene Lucrezia was. If I had to read one more mention of Lucrezia's hair washing habits I was going to scream. Plus, the affairs Lucrezia engaged in while in Ferrara were boring and half-heartedly written. I did not get any feel of the passion between the pairs. Lucrezia turned into a boring and shallow character and I could have cared less about the hardships she suffered toward the end. I was so sick of her! I think the story should have ended much earlier in her life. So read it if you are interested, but don't be surprised if you find yourself forcing yourself through the last part of the book.

[Mercedes · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Honestly, I think I finished this 2+ years ago...I'm not sure why it was still on my currently reading! It did take me a while to finish this, I kind of lost interest once Lucrezia was on her own....so essentially I preferred book one: Madonna of The Seven Hills to book two: Light on Lucrezia. This combo of both books was ideal for me and definitely a good read for anyone interested in the Borgias or that time period.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Plaidy's work. It's like wrapping up in my favorite blanket. Her take on the Borgia family was a perfect escape from the dumpster fire that is currently my life.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fairly slow-going, but since it was two books in one, I suppose that's my excuse for taking an age to finish. Both books cover the lives of the notorious Borgia family, but are centred around Lucrezia. Perhaps surprisingly, she is painted in a fairly sympathetic light; given the original publication dates of these two novels, that was a divergence from the popular culture depiction of her being just as murderous and evil as her brother Cesare.

The first book, Madonna of the Seven Hills, takes place from Lucrezia's birth through her childhood, marriage to Giovanni Sforza and subsequent divorce, up to the point of her second marriage, to Alfonso of Bisceglie. The second book, Light on Lucrezia, follows immediately on from the first, then continuing through her third marriage, to Alfonso of Ferrara, to her death.

The author clearly did her research, and there's some fascinating historical content in here; not just the big stuff that you learn at school, but the little, day-to-day things that you perhaps weren't even aware of. I suspect there's also a certain amount of artistic licence, but then the true history of the Borgias is incomplete, so the author would have had to fill in the gaps. The novels are very much of their time—although a very violent period in history, and featuring a family reknowned for their intriguing, promiscuity and murderous ways, by modern standards these are now fairly tame in terms of content and description. A lot of the darker content is hinted at, but not described outright. As such, it felt fairly polite to me, especially after the TV series....

Spanning the 39 years of Lucrezia's life, there's a huge amount of content and characters, and that did sometimes give an impression that some events were being skated over. At the same time, there was sometimes some repetition that didn't make much sense—the obsessive mentions of Lucrezia washing her hair so it stayed golden, or of her being so delicate and refined, and so on. This seemed to happen more and more towards the end of the second book, yet this was the period of Lucrezia's relationships with several men other than her third husband and her freedom from her father and brother.

These are a good introduction to the Borgia family, although as I already know a reasonable amount about them, I'd have preferred something less like a timeline narrative. They were still a worthwhile read, however.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to historical fiction, you can do far worse than Jean Plaidy. Her writing makes it easy to sink right into the narrative and swim around in it until your eyes get tired.
If you can find a 2-in-1 of Plaidy's, count yourself fortunate, and buy it.
The story of Lucrezia Borgia (the historical account, not this novel) is chock-full of drama and unbelievable circumstances. A pope who openly acknowledged at least three children, then treated them like Rome's princes and princess? A woman who married three times, once having her virginity "miraculously" restored by a Papal Bull (not included in this book)? The same woman, accused of both poisoning her enemies and of incest?
This is the stuff soap operas are made of, and yet here we are.
So, to be very fair, there is a decent amount of melodrama and bizarre behaviors - Cesare is particularly hard to empathize with and Plaidy doesn't shy away from hiding the squickiness of the Borgias. This will certainly make it less palatable for some readers.
There is plenty of drama and action to keep the plot moving, and though there is a certain amount of "what is the MATTER with you?!" with some of these characters, it's hard to get bored. Since the second book picks up essentially right where the first books stops, it's incredibly nice to have the omnibus edition of this duology.

Other readers have criticized the small font, saying it's illegible. I have to disagree. If you can read a normal mass market paperback, this is no smaller. If you have concerns about your eyesight, perhaps you should find this book in a store first and then open it to see if you can capably read it or not. It's not HUGE font, but it's certainly not difficult to read.

If you're interested in a fun historical read that has nothing to do with the Tudors, this might be the book for you.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

These two volumes (Madonna of the Seven Hills and Light on Lucrezia) are combined in one book. It spans the fifteenth century during the reign of Pope Alexander VI (Borgia.) The second book continues after his death. The stories are told through the eyes of Lucrezia. It is a rather tragic story during a troubled time in history. It is not a happy, entertaining story, yet very well done.

[Sharon Beers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Page 262, so far so good. This was a partial free sample. Will check out the book at the library.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I enjoyed about this book (really two books in one) is that it took a sympathetic view towards Lucrezia Borgia, as a victim of her family's plotting and murderous schemes. However, Lucrezia's passivity and saintlike forgiveness annoyed me at times, such as her mourning her brother Cesare even after he had her beloved second husband killed. Her family was so vengeful and so dysfunctional that I had a hard time understanding why she remained so attached to them.

Multiple perspectives did not serve the story well, especially since both novels are supposed to be focused on Lucrezia. While she is the central figure in both stories, entire sections from other characters' perspectives would sometimes drag the story down. Sometimes these sections were actually relevant to Lucrezia's life (she was caught up in a lot of intrigue, after all). But more often then not they just seemed unnecessary. I think I would still recommend this though, as Jean Plaidy did her research and managed to write a dramatic story.

[Dominique · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all of the historical fiction I’ve read, I’ve never read a book on the infamous Borgia family. I’ve also never read anything by Jean Plaidy who is considered to be an excellent historical fiction writer. I found this book to be an adequate introduction to both.

The Borgias are certainly a scandalous family to read about. A lot of sex, violence and rumors were going on over there. It certainly makes for an exciting plot. However, I found the plot to be conveyed at breakneck speed. A lot of information is dumped at the reader and it is very hard to get a sense of time passing as months can pass in a paragraph and years are never explicitly stated. I also found Plaidy’s writing to be tedious at times, she is quite fond of mentioning certain details over and over again throughout the story.

Overall the book isn’t bad but it isn’t stellar. I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to buy Jean Plaidy’s books but if I saw one at the library, I may read it.

[Kayla Lords · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worried that reading two books in one, making it a long(ish) epic-like read would get boring, but the two books flowed seamlessly into each other, even though original publication years are 1958, with the copyright being renewed in 1986. The story of Lucrezia Borgia was sad and mysterious, and I don't know if part of that was stylistic choice on the part of the author or if its because little was known.

I don't know what, if any, edits have been made to these books (Madonna of the Seven Hills and Light of Lucrezia) when they were combined into a single novel, but the style of writing is definitely older. A lot more telling and a lot less showing of the action than I'm used to. Also, some of the subtext of the relationships between the Borgia family, including their (possible, fictionalized) thoughts and feelings about each other were guarded. The implication through the entire book was that people believed incestuous relationships existed between the Borgias, that they were entirely too close as a family (as far as I know this is historically accurate). And yet, the author only hints at forbidden feelings Lucrezia may have (in book one) and then sticks to rumors believed and how non-Borgias react to seeing (specifically) Cesare and Lucrezia together. I wish there were more author notes to indicate Plaidy's writing choices about their relationship -- what to explicitly say and what to imply. Were these choices made because of the time when the books were originally written? Is it because the history only gives us rumor and conjecture? I don't want to have to read the research in order to figure out authorial intent.

I enjoyed this two-in-one as a contrast to the dark history of the Borgia family, but I also wonder if Lucrezia was as meek and mild as she's portrayed. I'd like to believe she's as good (NOT evil) as her other family members, but I felt like her character was a bit flat. That being said, for all the differences in style and things I would have preferred to see, it's a decent read.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean Plaidy writes a fascinating account of the Middle Ages in Italy in these two novels. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading it at bedtime. The story is written in the third person, so the characters remain at a distance, and I felt no emotional attachment to any of them. Yet, I was interested in their stories.

This book is rather like a soap opera but is quite intriguing. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, you may find this fun to read. It is not deep reading but is a historical novel and I did learn about Italy in the 1400s when it was separated into many warring states. I did not know much about this time in history when Pope Alexander VI ruled Rome with an iron hand. Morality was pretty much non-existent. Allegiance to the power of the Borgias family was everything, and any means were justified to that end.

The first novel, “Madonna of the Seven Hills” highlights Vannozza Catanei, mistress to Roderigo Borgia, a powerful, corrupt cardinal who later becomes Pope Alexander VI. Lucrezia Borgia’s perspective dominates the second story, “Light on Lucrezia”, so the reader is apt to sympathize with her, but, again, at an emotional distance. Despite her obvious frivolity, Lucrecia was one of the very few with a conscience.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seriously wanted to abandon this book at many points. The characters were heartless, violent, and frightening and parts of it got downright disgusting. The father, who was the Pope, was the biological father of many illegitimate children. He had many lovers and lived with them openly. The suggestion of the practice of celibacy for priests and popes was apparently too new to have been taken seriously. The father was so hungry for power that nothing could stand in his way. There was an undercurrent of a suggestion that there was a carnal relationship between His Holiness and his biological daughter Lucretia. Meanwhile Lucretia's brother is too close for comfort, and just as merciless as his old man. He is an archbishop and actually murders his elder brother to force his father to release him from his vows to the church. Again, there is the creepy feeling that brother and sister have a sexual relationship. The sister's lovers and husbands drop like flies at the hands of father and brother and poor Lucretia rolls over and takes it on the chin. I came to dislike her intensely for being so spineless. Not a pretty book and definitely not recommended for Catholics who love their church.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed reading this. The characters were mostly vivid and memorable. I did find Lucrezia a bit irritating at times; she seemed so lacking in the ability to think about what was happening around her. If anything, she was a pretty good study in willful ignorance, in some ways. She knew that her father and her brother were not good people, but loved them and so chose to prioritize that over everything. Understandable, maybe, and she had been manipulated by Cesare, in particular, from a very early age. But I still wanted her to wake up sometimes. Still, it was enjoyable to read and an interesting portrayal.

[Michele Feinberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of the iBorgias

This was a comprehensive tale of this infamous family that was often a page-turner. The myriad of names and begots was often confusing , but once getting used to this, the story was compelling enough to keep me a rapt audience. The author had a way of keeping me engrossed in the many treacherous encounters of this historical era. She was skilled enough in her writing to allow you to actually create sympathies for some of characters despite the shocking lawlessness of the times. If you are a history buff you will appreciate how the author breathed life into these times.

[Frank Settineri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an insight into the 15th century papacy. Corruption, deceit, murder, out of wedlock escapades by the pope, possible incest and total disregard for honesty and decency. I had to wonder how much was real and how much was fiction. And to think the standards we hold the clergy to today; whatever is done in our times pales in comparison to what happened 500 years ago. I read many historical novels and the common thread between them is the horrific treatment of woman, children and anyone who is not rich. Ii can't believe it's all made up. The ending was very fitting; there was actually no alternative to it.

[Wendy Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, and my brain is not processing non-fiction that well. I haven't picked up a Jean Plaidy book since I was in high school, and knowing nothing about the Borgias, I thought this would be interesting. It was pretty much what I needed - compelling, but not totally mindless. I had also been aiming for a book completely unrelated to current events; however, I failed on that front, given the Borgias were a power- and money-hungry family prone to nepotism, corruption, and a complete lack of compassion for the people they were meant to serve.
More of a 3.5 than a 3, but not quite a 4.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who knew nothing about the borgia's at the start of the book I found the read to be fascinating. The story started moving a little too slowly for me so I decided to give it up after the first book. (this is a 2 in 1) Someday I'll probably make an attempt at the second. It was well written but too if a story is going to hold my interest for 672 pages I need something with a little more suspense and action than the day to day dealings of crazy sociopaths.

[Cayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first book. I found it flat and not very exciting. Due to my dissatisfaction with book one, I didn't bother moving on to book two. I'd rather find something more worthy of my time.
I generally love books deeply rooted in European or Early American history. Jean Plaidy is said to be a very good author, but I'm just not a fan of her work. Perhaps it will suit you, but I'm going to stick with Phillippa Gregory!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good historical fiction account of the Borgias for those unfamiliar with more than just their salacious and deadly legacy. It is easy to follow the blood lines and takes a more sympathetic view of Lucrezia than other historical/fictive narratives allow. My only complaint is that it seems to rush toward the end. If you like a romantic style of historical fiction, you will like this (actually two) novel

[Mary Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

I enjoyed this book (2 books in 1) very much. I love historical fiction and I was intrigued by the way Plaidy wrote this book mainly about Lucretzia and from her point of view. The rest of the family Borgia are represented also, but their story is told through the relationship with her. I don't know how accurate the book is, historically speaking, but it's a good read, in my opinion.

[Moonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reluctantly giving it 4 stars but would have preferred if there was an option for 3 1/2. Longer than necessary, and at times reads more as a history book rather than historical fiction. Overall I liked it and particularly the depiction of Lucrezia as more of an 'innocent victim' than the usual painting of her as a manipulative and incestuous monster.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Plaidy has thrilled me for many many years.

I found my first Jean Plaidy books many many years ago , while still in school.
Never have I read one which was worth less than five gold stars , both for literary value and the immense effort the author makes to provide an authentic historical framework for the story line.

[John Pitman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventure in history

Those who enjoy performance automobiles say: it not the destination, but road trip. This set of 2 novels leads to a known end, but the reading was most enjoyable! The excellent writing took me to the times and places, and allowed some understanding of the characters. I highly recommend Jean Plaidy's writing on the Borgias!

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most readers of historical novels may have touched on the history of the Borgia family... along with the Papal intrigues present during that time period. I suggest this is an excellent book and seemingly well researched. Very well constructed in that it takes you through the colorful and brutal life of Lucretia, in particular.

[Gordon Gauss · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have abandoned this book. I knew of the history of the Borgias and thought it might be interesting to read more but this is not an enjoyable or challenging book to read. It's pretty "creepy" to be honest.

[Kathy Barter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really I rate it 4 1/2 stars

This author I read before but I don't recall reading The Borgias:: Two novels in One Volume. The story was very well told , a historical novel. A pope, his children, his mistresses, deceit, murders.

[Shanae Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

We all know the story of the first crime family The Borgias, but do you know Lucrezia's story? Even though this is a dated book it is well written, an easy ready which still makes this book current today.

[Mary Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just did not want this book to end !

Historical novels are always a delightful way to learn history for me . The entitlement of the rich and powerful of those days appears interestingly close to what occurs in the USA today .

[Klr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borgia family: what happens when you have a family overly devoted to each other, or overly involved with each other. This explores the life of Lucretia Borgia and includes her father, the Pope, and her brothers and the Roman society.