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Lucrezia Borgia #1
Madonna of the Seven Hills
The most beautiful woman in Rome, Lucrezia Borgia, was born into a family—and a destiny—she could not hope to escape . . .
Fifteenth-century Rome: The Borgia family is on the rise. Lucrezia’s father, Pope Alexander VI, places his illegitimate daughter and her only 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.
Fifteenth-century Rome: The Borgia family is on the rise. Lucrezia’s father, Pope Alexander VI, places his illegitimate daughter and her only 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.
Young Lucrezia gradually accepts her fate as she comes to terms with the delicate nature of her relationships with her father and brothers. The unbreakable bond she shares with them both exhilarates and terrifies her as her innocence begins to fade. Soon she will understand that her family’s love pales next to their quest for power and that she herself is the greatest tool in their political arsenal.
From the inimitable pen of Jean Plaidy, this family’s epic legend is replete with passion, intrigue, and murder—and it’s only the beginning.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
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2181 people want to read
About the author
Jean Plaidy
187 books1,587 followersEleanor 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
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
October 12, 2012
This is the first Jean Plaidy book I've ever read that did not concern itself with a Queen of England. I was expecting the reading of it to be a stranger experience.
But Jean Plaidy is always Jean Plaidy, writing as if she's telling a fairy tale but not sparing us any of the unsavory or unpleasant details. So of course she had to take on the infamous Lucrezia Borgia.
I've noticed a tendency, in Plaidy, to build the tale around the most popular anecdote about her subject known at the time, whether it's truth or folklore. Thus, for instance, The Follies of the King is one long argument/justification for the infamous (and possibly fanciful) murder, at the behest of his long-suffering wife, of Edward III by means of a red hot poker. And thus this first of two books Plaidy wrote about Lucrezia and the rest of the Borgia family is just a giant bit of foreshadowing for the legendary fratricide of Lucrezia's brother Juan/Giovanni by her other brother Cesare.
Thus even as it tells the story of Lucrezia's father's elevation from Cardinal Roderigo Borgia to Pope Alexander III despite being the father of three and possibly four illegitimate children by a courtesan, which is a tale quite worthy of a novel in its own right, Madonna of the Seven Hills focuses on perhaps the most famous case of sibling rivalry gone wild since Cain and Abel, except this time, instead of God's favor, the brothers are dueling for that of their own sister and father.*
Some later writers (Madonna of the Seven Hills was first published in 1958) might have gone all out for the scandalous, salacious incest plot, but Plaidy, as always, was more interested in who Lucrezia really was and why she would accept and even embrace a situation that most modern women would find intolerable. From the first pages, we see Lucrezia as a girl born to a bizarre station in life (tartly observing at one point to her friend Giulia Farnese [who has also by that point taken over Lucrezia's mother's job as the pope's mistress] that accepting bribes and telling her father all about them is her job) but who never knew anything else; the only daughter of a family of vain, proud, selfish and violently passionate pseudo-aristocrats who can't afford not to stick together however much they have gotten sick of each other.
So of course Plaidy's Lucrezia** grows up to be a pathological people pleaser. She is rich and powerful and beautiful and educated, but despite these advantages her self-worth is bound up only in how her father and brothers react to her; if they are adoring her, they are not fighting each other, or killing people, or starting wars or seduce-raping innocent girls (or boys) -- so it's very important that they keep on adoring her, even if it means keeping them trapped as rivals for her attention and affection. Whether or not she had a sexual relationship with any of them is quite beside the point, for Plaidy; if she did, it was just another symptom. Plaidy is more interested in how the rumors got started than if they were true.
As I said, though, all of this is just foreshadowing for the culmination of the big and legendary hatred between Cesare and Giovanni***, the two brothers who have only ever been friends when they were teaming up against an outsider whom they perceived as a threat to the family (usually a husband or lover or would-be lover of Lucrezia's). It's a tricky thing Plaidy has done here, making us sympathize for their prize even as our author so obviously taps her foot impatiently waiting for the Big Showdown. Lucrezia gets humanized only to be turned into a thing, a prize, anyway.
Which is to say that in Madonna of the Seven Hills, Plaidy may have achieved her greatest degree of verisimilitude, of art imitating life almost painfully perfectly, of all.
But that's not quite what we turn to historical fiction/romance for, is it?
*Alexander VI was an infamously indulgent and doting father, but even so, imposed his will on his children somewhat mercilessly. Giovanni, his favorite, he chose to be the soldier and the secular nobleman, blind to the fact that Giovanni was about as much a soldier as, as, well, as Cesare was a clergyman. And, famously, Cesare was the one who got trained up in the priesthood and made a Cardinal by age 18. Of course, had this not happened, Niccolo Macchiavelli wouldn't have had his model for The Prince, because Cesare wouldn't have had to become the consummate schemer he was, etc.
**And possibly the historical Lucrezia, too.
***Peculiarly, the actual murder is dealt with offstage, which feels like a bit of a cheat after all of the build-up, but again, is the sort of anti-climactic "truth" writers like Plaidy most like to highlight, even at the expense of causing the last third or so of the novel to fall flat.
But Jean Plaidy is always Jean Plaidy, writing as if she's telling a fairy tale but not sparing us any of the unsavory or unpleasant details. So of course she had to take on the infamous Lucrezia Borgia.
I've noticed a tendency, in Plaidy, to build the tale around the most popular anecdote about her subject known at the time, whether it's truth or folklore. Thus, for instance, The Follies of the King is one long argument/justification for the infamous (and possibly fanciful) murder, at the behest of his long-suffering wife, of Edward III by means of a red hot poker. And thus this first of two books Plaidy wrote about Lucrezia and the rest of the Borgia family is just a giant bit of foreshadowing for the legendary fratricide of Lucrezia's brother Juan/Giovanni by her other brother Cesare.
Thus even as it tells the story of Lucrezia's father's elevation from Cardinal Roderigo Borgia to Pope Alexander III despite being the father of three and possibly four illegitimate children by a courtesan, which is a tale quite worthy of a novel in its own right, Madonna of the Seven Hills focuses on perhaps the most famous case of sibling rivalry gone wild since Cain and Abel, except this time, instead of God's favor, the brothers are dueling for that of their own sister and father.*
Some later writers (Madonna of the Seven Hills was first published in 1958) might have gone all out for the scandalous, salacious incest plot, but Plaidy, as always, was more interested in who Lucrezia really was and why she would accept and even embrace a situation that most modern women would find intolerable. From the first pages, we see Lucrezia as a girl born to a bizarre station in life (tartly observing at one point to her friend Giulia Farnese [who has also by that point taken over Lucrezia's mother's job as the pope's mistress] that accepting bribes and telling her father all about them is her job) but who never knew anything else; the only daughter of a family of vain, proud, selfish and violently passionate pseudo-aristocrats who can't afford not to stick together however much they have gotten sick of each other.
So of course Plaidy's Lucrezia** grows up to be a pathological people pleaser. She is rich and powerful and beautiful and educated, but despite these advantages her self-worth is bound up only in how her father and brothers react to her; if they are adoring her, they are not fighting each other, or killing people, or starting wars or seduce-raping innocent girls (or boys) -- so it's very important that they keep on adoring her, even if it means keeping them trapped as rivals for her attention and affection. Whether or not she had a sexual relationship with any of them is quite beside the point, for Plaidy; if she did, it was just another symptom. Plaidy is more interested in how the rumors got started than if they were true.
As I said, though, all of this is just foreshadowing for the culmination of the big and legendary hatred between Cesare and Giovanni***, the two brothers who have only ever been friends when they were teaming up against an outsider whom they perceived as a threat to the family (usually a husband or lover or would-be lover of Lucrezia's). It's a tricky thing Plaidy has done here, making us sympathize for their prize even as our author so obviously taps her foot impatiently waiting for the Big Showdown. Lucrezia gets humanized only to be turned into a thing, a prize, anyway.
Which is to say that in Madonna of the Seven Hills, Plaidy may have achieved her greatest degree of verisimilitude, of art imitating life almost painfully perfectly, of all.
But that's not quite what we turn to historical fiction/romance for, is it?
*Alexander VI was an infamously indulgent and doting father, but even so, imposed his will on his children somewhat mercilessly. Giovanni, his favorite, he chose to be the soldier and the secular nobleman, blind to the fact that Giovanni was about as much a soldier as, as, well, as Cesare was a clergyman. And, famously, Cesare was the one who got trained up in the priesthood and made a Cardinal by age 18. Of course, had this not happened, Niccolo Macchiavelli wouldn't have had his model for The Prince, because Cesare wouldn't have had to become the consummate schemer he was, etc.
**And possibly the historical Lucrezia, too.
***Peculiarly, the actual murder is dealt with offstage, which feels like a bit of a cheat after all of the build-up, but again, is the sort of anti-climactic "truth" writers like Plaidy most like to highlight, even at the expense of causing the last third or so of the novel to fall flat.
July 19, 2013
As a schoolgirl I devoured Jean Plaidy’s novels. Her tales of intrigue and passion in high places were heady stuff for a girl attending a convent school. I longed to be one of Charles II’s mistresses, or live in Renaissance Italy. The books that remained with me most were her Lucrezia Borgia series. To a sheltered Catholic teenager, the ambitions and amorality of the Borgia pope and his family were shocking and titillating. Recently, I thought I might revisit Jean Plaidy and found second-hand copies of Madonna of the Seven Hills and Light on Lucrezia on the internet.
My strongest memories came from the first volume, Madonna of the Seven Hills. Even after thirty years I could still recall images of Cesare Borgia murdering his brother from sheer jealousy, of his father, Roderigo Borgia, smoothly transferring his affections from his favourite son to the son he knew had killed him, of Lucrezia Borgia, heavily pregnant from a passionate affair held within convent walls, standing before a panel of cardinals declaring herself virgo intacta in order to obtain a divorce from an inconvenient husband.
Plaidy’s version of Lucrezia Borgia was also a lesson in historiography. In portraying a woman whose name had come down in infamy as the innocent pawn of her father and brother, Plaidy taught me that history is not a set of fixed truths, but a narrative that can be turned and manipulated to the teller’s purposes.
Yet for all that, on taking up the book again in my maturity, I was sorely disappointed and wondered how I could once have read it so avidly. I can only imagine that it was not for the style, but for the content, for those glimpses of sex and passion that appealed so viscerally to an adolescent becoming aware of her own desires. But yet how innocent an age it was, for they are only glimpses, a few passionate words, a post-coital smile, coy references. How different to the blow by blow descriptions we expect today.
I struggled to read this book, spurred on by my determination to write this review, and, I must guiltily admit, to relive those old memories. The only way I could keep at it was by taking it to work with me where I would read anything as a diversion on a long and boring tram ride.
Plaidy’s style transgresses the one important precept of novel writing. She tells rather than shows. The novel is mainly exposition interspersed with occasional, uninspiring dialogue. We are told everything about the characters’ internal workings, yet they still remain fundamentally unconvincing. Her character development moves from point A almost as far as point B. Cesare is angry and violent in the nursery only to get more angry and violent as a man. Lucrezia’s thoughts are actually more sophisticated in the nursery than in her treacherous adult world. Roderigo’s subtlety is celebrated, yet we must believe that he can turn a blind eye to whatever does not please him.
The novel’s flaws are evident from the first few pages where we are introduced to Lucrezia’s parents and follow their separate musings on their lives. These long passages float from one subject to another, touch back on the first subject, go elsewhere and then return. Joycean perhaps, but not what the novelist was aiming for. In fact it read as a first draft in need of tidying up, and furnished the key to the underlying problem of the novel. Given the author’s output (over 200 historical novels under several pseudonyms) and the amount of research that must have gone into each novel, it is not surprising that they had to be written quickly, with little time for second thoughts.
However, reservations aside, although I might have outgrown her, I have Jean Plaidy to thank for firing my interest in history and for introducing me to a world beyond the convent walls.
My strongest memories came from the first volume, Madonna of the Seven Hills. Even after thirty years I could still recall images of Cesare Borgia murdering his brother from sheer jealousy, of his father, Roderigo Borgia, smoothly transferring his affections from his favourite son to the son he knew had killed him, of Lucrezia Borgia, heavily pregnant from a passionate affair held within convent walls, standing before a panel of cardinals declaring herself virgo intacta in order to obtain a divorce from an inconvenient husband.
Plaidy’s version of Lucrezia Borgia was also a lesson in historiography. In portraying a woman whose name had come down in infamy as the innocent pawn of her father and brother, Plaidy taught me that history is not a set of fixed truths, but a narrative that can be turned and manipulated to the teller’s purposes.
Yet for all that, on taking up the book again in my maturity, I was sorely disappointed and wondered how I could once have read it so avidly. I can only imagine that it was not for the style, but for the content, for those glimpses of sex and passion that appealed so viscerally to an adolescent becoming aware of her own desires. But yet how innocent an age it was, for they are only glimpses, a few passionate words, a post-coital smile, coy references. How different to the blow by blow descriptions we expect today.
I struggled to read this book, spurred on by my determination to write this review, and, I must guiltily admit, to relive those old memories. The only way I could keep at it was by taking it to work with me where I would read anything as a diversion on a long and boring tram ride.
Plaidy’s style transgresses the one important precept of novel writing. She tells rather than shows. The novel is mainly exposition interspersed with occasional, uninspiring dialogue. We are told everything about the characters’ internal workings, yet they still remain fundamentally unconvincing. Her character development moves from point A almost as far as point B. Cesare is angry and violent in the nursery only to get more angry and violent as a man. Lucrezia’s thoughts are actually more sophisticated in the nursery than in her treacherous adult world. Roderigo’s subtlety is celebrated, yet we must believe that he can turn a blind eye to whatever does not please him.
The novel’s flaws are evident from the first few pages where we are introduced to Lucrezia’s parents and follow their separate musings on their lives. These long passages float from one subject to another, touch back on the first subject, go elsewhere and then return. Joycean perhaps, but not what the novelist was aiming for. In fact it read as a first draft in need of tidying up, and furnished the key to the underlying problem of the novel. Given the author’s output (over 200 historical novels under several pseudonyms) and the amount of research that must have gone into each novel, it is not surprising that they had to be written quickly, with little time for second thoughts.
However, reservations aside, although I might have outgrown her, I have Jean Plaidy to thank for firing my interest in history and for introducing me to a world beyond the convent walls.
October 29, 2011
This is a story of the Borgia family taking place in Italy during the fifteenth century. I read this story because of my interest in the Borgias after the episode on TV. The novel focuses on the lives of the father (who became Pope Alexander VI) and his four illegitimate children. Most of the story centers around his daughter Lucrezia. It is a story of power, luxury, murder and heartbreak.
Jean Plaidy has written over 100 historical fiction books under several names (many as Jean Holt.) There are the Tudors Saga (11), Stuarts (7), Queens of England (11) and many more. Madonna of the Seven Hills was first published in 1965 and was republished this year in a two volume book entitled The Borgias. It also includes Book 2 of the Borgias, entitled Light on Lucrezia, which I look forward to reading. I will definitely be looking for more of this author's work, hoping more will be republished in the future. Her style is light and easy to read, combining a pleasing combination of fact and fiction.
Jean Plaidy has written over 100 historical fiction books under several names (many as Jean Holt.) There are the Tudors Saga (11), Stuarts (7), Queens of England (11) and many more. Madonna of the Seven Hills was first published in 1965 and was republished this year in a two volume book entitled The Borgias. It also includes Book 2 of the Borgias, entitled Light on Lucrezia, which I look forward to reading. I will definitely be looking for more of this author's work, hoping more will be republished in the future. Her style is light and easy to read, combining a pleasing combination of fact and fiction.
March 4, 2018
Raised surrounded by riches in an atmosphere ripe with scandal, Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, is both the apple of her father's eye and an important pawn in furthering his ambitions. In the midst of power struggles, bribery and assassinations as well as her older brothers' intense rivalry, her innocence cannot last for very long.
The Borgias are a source of endless fascination for many - myself obviously among them. Jean Plaidy can generally be relied upon for deft characterisations and well-paced plotting that takes historical facts into account and pays little heed to unfounded rumours. While not my favourite among her works that I've read so far, this first part of her Lucrezia duology following her protagonist from birth until her second wedding day was a solid, enjoyable effort.
The Borgias are a source of endless fascination for many - myself obviously among them. Jean Plaidy can generally be relied upon for deft characterisations and well-paced plotting that takes historical facts into account and pays little heed to unfounded rumours. While not my favourite among her works that I've read so far, this first part of her Lucrezia duology following her protagonist from birth until her second wedding day was a solid, enjoyable effort.
March 10, 2021
Well that was uncomfortable. I’m not sure I want to know how much of this book is accurate. Eeww, Borgias!
October 14, 2017
Sebelum membaca buku Borgia ini, saya sudah menonton film miniseri the Borgia yg dilansir tahun 2011. Maka saya tertarik utk membaca bukunya. Beruntung saya membaca buku karya Jean Plaidy ini, yg terdiri dari 2 buku.
Dalam buku ini dibahas sejak kelahiran Lucrezia Borgia dimana dia sudah jadi permata hati keluarganya, diperebutkan kasih sayangnya antara abang-abangnya yang saling iri hati, Cesare dan Giovanni. Lucrezia digambarkan sbg gadis cantik, penurut dan selalu berusaha menyenangkan semua orang. Sampai pernikahannya pun diatur utk kepentingan keuntungan politik ayahnya. Dan pergolakan perseteruan kedua kakaknya, terombang-ambingnya perasaan Lucrezia yang harus mengindahkan saran dan perintah ayah serta kakaknya, dan kepatuhan sbg istri dari Giovanni Sforza, suami yang dipilih oleh ayahnya.
Saya lebih suka membahas masing-masing karakter tokoh-tokoh sejarah dalam buku ini. Pengarang menulis dgn lihay nya ttg kelebihan dan kekurangan masing-masing individu yang memiliki peran penting dalam kehidupan awal Lucrezia, walau ada indikasi dari pengarang yang terlihat tidak menyukai Sforza dan Orsini (suami Giulia Farnesse) yang dikatakan sbg pria lemah.
Aleksander VI aka Roderigo Borgia, sang kepala keluarga, ambisius luar biasa, sangat sayang pada semua anak-anaknya terutama kesayangannya, Giovanni. Dia piawai memainkan politik seperti seorang maestro, mengubah kekalahan menjadi kemenangannya. Namun sayang sekali, dia tidak bisa melihat potensi dan bakat masing-masing anak lelakinya terutama Cesare dan Giovanni, yang menjadi "bumerang tragedi" bagi Aleksander karena perselisihan kedua anaknya ini mengakibatkan dia harus kehilangan anak kesayangannya, Giovanni yang dilenyapkan oleh Cesare (yang ini mengingatkan saya pada kisah raja Tang Taizong muda sblm mjd kaisar, yang membunuh kakak dan adiknya, serta meraih tampuk singgasana dari ayahnya).
Cesare Borgia, digambarkan berandal yang di saat dewasanya berubah menjadi sosok dominan, dingin dan mematikan, tetapi berdarah panas dan tidak ragu-ragu utk membunuh lawan2nya. Mungkin jika Aleksander "tidak memaksa" Cesare utk menjadi kardinal, "tidak memaksa" Cesare utk membunuh Virginio Orsini, yang dikaguminya ketika dia remaja, Giovanni Borgia mungkin tidak akan dilenyapkan oleh Cesare. Tapi sejarah sudah menakdirkan demikian.
Lucrezia Borgia, gadis cantik manja, yang menurut saya tidak punya ketetapan hati, lebih menyukai keindahan duniawi, sama seperti ayah dan kakak2nya. Dia tidak bisa luput dari cengkeraman keluarganya, dgn pemberian kasih sayang yang keterlaluan dan tidak normal (bahkan di mata Sforza, suaminya), menjadikan dirinya sosok pembimbang dan mudah dirayu utk dimanfaatkan scr politis oleh ayahnya. Lucrezia melakukan skandal pertamanya dgn memiliki anak haram dgn pelayan utusan ayahnya ketika surat-menyurat antara Lucrezia dan ayahnya ketika Lucrezia ada di Biara San Sisto. Inilah "bukti" bahwa Lucrezia impulsif dan tidak bisa menahan godaan.
Giovanni Sforza, pion malang yang menjadi suami Lucrezia. Dia sebenarnya lumayan cerdik, tapi karena terlalu pemalu dan minder, membuat dirinya gentar dan benci terhadap keluarga Borgia. Dirinya tidak pernah dianggap sbg anggota keluarga oleh ayah dan kakak2 Lucrezia. Dan perceraian dgn tuduhan impotensi dan pernyataan bahwa Lucrezia masih perawan, benar2 menggelikan.
Giulia Farnesse, gundik kesayangan Aleksander yang sepantaran dgn Lucrezia, namun lebih matang dan cerdik daripada Lucrezia. Giulia sadar dirinya cantik dan bisa memberikan keuntungan bagi keluarganya dan keluarga suaminya, Orsini. Adriana, ibu mertua Giulia pun yang soleh dan taat, tidak berdaya dgn kekuasaan uang dan politis yang ditawarkan Aleksander, malah mendukung Giulia utk menjadi kekasih Paus bejat ini. Kemunafikan dan korupsi pada zaman Aleksander VI tampaknya adalah hal lumrah dgn "menutup mata". Sayangnya belakangan Giulia tidak diceritakan lagi setelah dia "disandera" pihak Perancis dan ditebus oleh Paus Aleksander.
Skandal-skandal seks (adik ipar menjadi kekasih kakak-beradik Borgia), politik suap-menyuap (Aleksander berhasil menjadi Paus karena janji-janji politis dan uang, dan sebagai Kardinal terkaya pada zamannya, tidak mengherankan dia bisa berhasil dgn ambisinya itu), nepotisme (Cesare dijadikan Kardinal, dan Giovanni dijadikan Duke of Gandia) merajalela di buku ini. Saya suka jalan ceritanya dgn alur maju, dan penggambaran karakter tokoh-tokohnya dan pergolakan batin mereka digambarkan bagus sekali. Utk yang menyukai genre historical fiction ttg politik Eropa zaman abad perrtengahan seperti saya, buku ini akan memukau benak Anda seperti yang saya rasakan pada saat membacanya.
Dalam buku ini dibahas sejak kelahiran Lucrezia Borgia dimana dia sudah jadi permata hati keluarganya, diperebutkan kasih sayangnya antara abang-abangnya yang saling iri hati, Cesare dan Giovanni. Lucrezia digambarkan sbg gadis cantik, penurut dan selalu berusaha menyenangkan semua orang. Sampai pernikahannya pun diatur utk kepentingan keuntungan politik ayahnya. Dan pergolakan perseteruan kedua kakaknya, terombang-ambingnya perasaan Lucrezia yang harus mengindahkan saran dan perintah ayah serta kakaknya, dan kepatuhan sbg istri dari Giovanni Sforza, suami yang dipilih oleh ayahnya.
Saya lebih suka membahas masing-masing karakter tokoh-tokoh sejarah dalam buku ini. Pengarang menulis dgn lihay nya ttg kelebihan dan kekurangan masing-masing individu yang memiliki peran penting dalam kehidupan awal Lucrezia, walau ada indikasi dari pengarang yang terlihat tidak menyukai Sforza dan Orsini (suami Giulia Farnesse) yang dikatakan sbg pria lemah.
Aleksander VI aka Roderigo Borgia, sang kepala keluarga, ambisius luar biasa, sangat sayang pada semua anak-anaknya terutama kesayangannya, Giovanni. Dia piawai memainkan politik seperti seorang maestro, mengubah kekalahan menjadi kemenangannya. Namun sayang sekali, dia tidak bisa melihat potensi dan bakat masing-masing anak lelakinya terutama Cesare dan Giovanni, yang menjadi "bumerang tragedi" bagi Aleksander karena perselisihan kedua anaknya ini mengakibatkan dia harus kehilangan anak kesayangannya, Giovanni yang dilenyapkan oleh Cesare (yang ini mengingatkan saya pada kisah raja Tang Taizong muda sblm mjd kaisar, yang membunuh kakak dan adiknya, serta meraih tampuk singgasana dari ayahnya).
Cesare Borgia, digambarkan berandal yang di saat dewasanya berubah menjadi sosok dominan, dingin dan mematikan, tetapi berdarah panas dan tidak ragu-ragu utk membunuh lawan2nya. Mungkin jika Aleksander "tidak memaksa" Cesare utk menjadi kardinal, "tidak memaksa" Cesare utk membunuh Virginio Orsini, yang dikaguminya ketika dia remaja, Giovanni Borgia mungkin tidak akan dilenyapkan oleh Cesare. Tapi sejarah sudah menakdirkan demikian.
Lucrezia Borgia, gadis cantik manja, yang menurut saya tidak punya ketetapan hati, lebih menyukai keindahan duniawi, sama seperti ayah dan kakak2nya. Dia tidak bisa luput dari cengkeraman keluarganya, dgn pemberian kasih sayang yang keterlaluan dan tidak normal (bahkan di mata Sforza, suaminya), menjadikan dirinya sosok pembimbang dan mudah dirayu utk dimanfaatkan scr politis oleh ayahnya. Lucrezia melakukan skandal pertamanya dgn memiliki anak haram dgn pelayan utusan ayahnya ketika surat-menyurat antara Lucrezia dan ayahnya ketika Lucrezia ada di Biara San Sisto. Inilah "bukti" bahwa Lucrezia impulsif dan tidak bisa menahan godaan.
Giovanni Sforza, pion malang yang menjadi suami Lucrezia. Dia sebenarnya lumayan cerdik, tapi karena terlalu pemalu dan minder, membuat dirinya gentar dan benci terhadap keluarga Borgia. Dirinya tidak pernah dianggap sbg anggota keluarga oleh ayah dan kakak2 Lucrezia. Dan perceraian dgn tuduhan impotensi dan pernyataan bahwa Lucrezia masih perawan, benar2 menggelikan.
Giulia Farnesse, gundik kesayangan Aleksander yang sepantaran dgn Lucrezia, namun lebih matang dan cerdik daripada Lucrezia. Giulia sadar dirinya cantik dan bisa memberikan keuntungan bagi keluarganya dan keluarga suaminya, Orsini. Adriana, ibu mertua Giulia pun yang soleh dan taat, tidak berdaya dgn kekuasaan uang dan politis yang ditawarkan Aleksander, malah mendukung Giulia utk menjadi kekasih Paus bejat ini. Kemunafikan dan korupsi pada zaman Aleksander VI tampaknya adalah hal lumrah dgn "menutup mata". Sayangnya belakangan Giulia tidak diceritakan lagi setelah dia "disandera" pihak Perancis dan ditebus oleh Paus Aleksander.
Skandal-skandal seks (adik ipar menjadi kekasih kakak-beradik Borgia), politik suap-menyuap (Aleksander berhasil menjadi Paus karena janji-janji politis dan uang, dan sebagai Kardinal terkaya pada zamannya, tidak mengherankan dia bisa berhasil dgn ambisinya itu), nepotisme (Cesare dijadikan Kardinal, dan Giovanni dijadikan Duke of Gandia) merajalela di buku ini. Saya suka jalan ceritanya dgn alur maju, dan penggambaran karakter tokoh-tokohnya dan pergolakan batin mereka digambarkan bagus sekali. Utk yang menyukai genre historical fiction ttg politik Eropa zaman abad perrtengahan seperti saya, buku ini akan memukau benak Anda seperti yang saya rasakan pada saat membacanya.
September 24, 2014
I really really wanted to like this book. I really did!
After seeing the show about their family, I wanted to immerse myself in a juicy book about it, especially about Lucrezia, and I believe that's the reason I even reached the end of this book in the first place.
I was starved for a story about them, and as any starved person, at first, I devoured what was in front of me without giving it much thought but then, when I slowly became full, I realized how dull it was.
I kept on waiting for Lucrezia to wake up, for the dynamics to change and become more intricate and interesting but it was to no avail.
And really, let's be frank, a whole book where the protagonist it's always acting like an over dramatic pure soul? Especially when she has a family like that? I just can't believe it. It's unreal and far-fetched. In my opinion, if we take in consideration the family she grew up in, there's no way Lucrezia was so innocent, no way. And at first, the writer (it's actually one of the first things we read) says that to understand them we have to take in consideration the times they lived in. And I get that, I really do, but she kept trying to make Lucrezia into an innocent and good young girl, and it felt out of place.
For me it lacked substance; with so many scandals they had, you would think a writer would make a feast out of them, but no, we get stuck with how much Lucrezia loves his family and how much she yearns for passion. For God's sake! It was insufferable.
If you want to read about a badass Lucrezia, then don't even look at this book. And if you want to read about the Borgias and their lives, then don't either. The book goes over their matters and problems in such a brief manner that you keep wondering if you read them at all.
After seeing the show about their family, I wanted to immerse myself in a juicy book about it, especially about Lucrezia, and I believe that's the reason I even reached the end of this book in the first place.
I was starved for a story about them, and as any starved person, at first, I devoured what was in front of me without giving it much thought but then, when I slowly became full, I realized how dull it was.
I kept on waiting for Lucrezia to wake up, for the dynamics to change and become more intricate and interesting but it was to no avail.
-"Oh, how I love my brothers, my family. Oh, how I miss them. Oh, I can't be happy if I'm not near them. They scare me a little bit, they do, but- oh how I need them and love them"-
That's the whole book! That and Cesare insinuating to Lucrezia how they could be more than siblings, but then, I didn't believe him to be as obsessed with her as Plaidy wants us to believe. He seems to remember his said obsession only when he's bored or when it most suits him.And really, let's be frank, a whole book where the protagonist it's always acting like an over dramatic pure soul? Especially when she has a family like that? I just can't believe it. It's unreal and far-fetched. In my opinion, if we take in consideration the family she grew up in, there's no way Lucrezia was so innocent, no way. And at first, the writer (it's actually one of the first things we read) says that to understand them we have to take in consideration the times they lived in. And I get that, I really do, but she kept trying to make Lucrezia into an innocent and good young girl, and it felt out of place.
For me it lacked substance; with so many scandals they had, you would think a writer would make a feast out of them, but no, we get stuck with how much Lucrezia loves his family and how much she yearns for passion. For God's sake! It was insufferable.
If you want to read about a badass Lucrezia, then don't even look at this book. And if you want to read about the Borgias and their lives, then don't either. The book goes over their matters and problems in such a brief manner that you keep wondering if you read them at all.
February 23, 2022
Brilliant book. The tragic life of an illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Lucrezia must learn to navigate the troubled waters that are her life. From jealous brothers and a father obsessed with power, she becomes a pawn in the world of men. Slowly her innocence slips away as she comes into her own.
Plaidy is my favorite historical fiction writer. She masterfully blends facts with a sprinkle of her imagination to produce an relatively accurate historical narrative.
Plaidy is my favorite historical fiction writer. She masterfully blends facts with a sprinkle of her imagination to produce an relatively accurate historical narrative.
November 22, 2011
Zaista ne znam kako bih ocijenila ovu knjigu. Mislila sam dati tri zvjezdice, ali onda pogledam kojim sam sve knjigama dala tri zvjezdice a puno su lošije. Dati četiri opet bi bilo previše. One stvari koje su mi se svidjele istovremeno bi mi išle na živce u nekim poglavljima.
Ali prije toga, evo ukratko o čemu se radi u knjizi. Za one koji ne znaju, „Madonna of the Seven Hills“ (na hrvatskom prevedena kao Gospa od sedam brežuljaka) govori o Lucreziji Borgiji, vanbračnom djetetu kardinala Rodriga Borgije, koji će kasnije postati papa Aleksandar VI .
Roman počinje njenim rođenjem. U početku je opisano njeno djetinjstvo u domu njene majke Vannozze Cattanei. Radnja se odvija polako. Nema nekih napetosti osim ako ne računate vječno rivalstvo njene braće Giovannija i Cesarea Borgie. Lucrezia odrasta u takvoj sredni gdje su ljubavnici, umorstva, zavjere i spletke smatrane normalnom pojavom.
Dalje vam neću pisati. Morat ćete sami pročitati.
E, sad. Prije čitanja knjige malo sam znala o Lucreziji. Nisam puno kopala po wikipediji jer sam gledala prve dvije epizode serije The Borgias pa sam imala neko „predzanje“ prije čitanja. Međutim, serija je jedno a roman drugo.
Evo što me smetalo:
1) OPISI likova!
- Lik Lucrezie. Spisateljica je pokušala pokazati Lucreziu žrtvom okoline, njenog oca i braće. Htjela je da čitatelji osjete neku vrstu žaljenja prema Lucreziji. Međutim, njeni jednostavni opisi dvanaestogodišnje djevojčice nisu joj dali nikakvu dubinu. Umjesto osjećaja sažaljenja samo sam je doživjela kao površnu i poglupu.
I da, zlatna kosa. Zar nema nikakvog drugog opisa za kosu?! Njena duga, zlatna kosa. Njena ljepota. Kakva ljepota? Jedino spominje zlatnu kosu milijun puta i ništa drugo. Je li bila visoka, niska? Kakve je imala oči, usta? Malo više opisa ne bi škodilo!
-Giulia. Zanimljiv lik, ali opet... Koliko god bila zanimljiva, ovo je knjiga o Lucreziji i dosadilo mi je čitati pedeset stranica o Giuliji koja ljubuje sa muškarcem koji joj može biti djed!
-Sanchia. Još jedan ženski lik koja osim lukavosti i zavodljivosti nema nikakvu kvalitetu. Zanimljiv lik, ali je previše stranica zauzela njena jako bitna priča.
-Cesare Borgia. Piše na wikipediji kako je bio okrutan, ubojica, manipulator. Kad pročitaš nešto takvo dobiješ određenu predstavu kako bi lik trebao biti opisan. A ne... On je tako opisan da odmah padneš na njega. Zloban i zavodnik. Magnet za žene. Oh, to je takooo romantično. Uff. Opisan je kao razmažen klinac koji stalno kuka kako je on trebao biti veliki vojskovođa koji osvaja cijelu Europu, kao Julije Cezar. Jedina rekacija kad je ljut je stiskanje šaka. Mislim,stvarno? A namrgođeno lice, stisnuti zubi?
-Giovanni Sforza. Prvi Lucrezijin muž. Možete pogoditi kako je opisan-meek, weak, coward. I tako stotinu puta na stotinu stranica.
2)OPIS Italije tj. Rima ili manjak opisa Italije tj. Rima.
Ženska napiše nazive dvije ulice i sad joj trebam povjerovati da je radnja smještena u Rimu?
Kad bi izbacili nazive ulica i talijanska imena, radnja bi lako mogla biti smještena u bilo koji grad u bilo koje vrijeme! Uopće nemaš osjećaj da se radnja odvija u Italiji u 15. stoljeću!
A sad što mi svidjelo:
1) Priča. Kako je ovo ipak povijesni roman, podloga mu je u činjenicama ili iskrivljenim činjenicama. Zavjere, spletke, umorstva. O tome nije nikad dosadno čitati.
2) Radnja pred kraj romana. Zamjeram što se nešto interesantno počinje događati pred kraj romana.
*spoiler alert*
Tek na kraju romana Lucrezija dobija jednu novu dimenziju nakon što se nesretno zaljubi u Pedra. Ali, naravno, njena sreća ne potraje kratko jer joj brat i otac ubiju ljubavnika da ne bi osramotila cijelu obitelj. Nakon ovog dijela shvatiš u kakvom je vremenu i okruženju živjela pa se možeš na neki način povezati s likom. Ali, trebalo je 200 stranica kako bi se došlo do toga.
Bilo kako bilo, knjiga nije loša i kad je postala zanimljiva-bam! Kraj romana. Plaidy je jako lukava što je ostavila roman nedovršenim pa sad moram pročitati i drugi dio. Lukavo Plaidy, lukavo.
Ali prije toga, evo ukratko o čemu se radi u knjizi. Za one koji ne znaju, „Madonna of the Seven Hills“ (na hrvatskom prevedena kao Gospa od sedam brežuljaka) govori o Lucreziji Borgiji, vanbračnom djetetu kardinala Rodriga Borgije, koji će kasnije postati papa Aleksandar VI .
Roman počinje njenim rođenjem. U početku je opisano njeno djetinjstvo u domu njene majke Vannozze Cattanei. Radnja se odvija polako. Nema nekih napetosti osim ako ne računate vječno rivalstvo njene braće Giovannija i Cesarea Borgie. Lucrezia odrasta u takvoj sredni gdje su ljubavnici, umorstva, zavjere i spletke smatrane normalnom pojavom.
Dalje vam neću pisati. Morat ćete sami pročitati.
E, sad. Prije čitanja knjige malo sam znala o Lucreziji. Nisam puno kopala po wikipediji jer sam gledala prve dvije epizode serije The Borgias pa sam imala neko „predzanje“ prije čitanja. Međutim, serija je jedno a roman drugo.
Evo što me smetalo:
1) OPISI likova!
- Lik Lucrezie. Spisateljica je pokušala pokazati Lucreziu žrtvom okoline, njenog oca i braće. Htjela je da čitatelji osjete neku vrstu žaljenja prema Lucreziji. Međutim, njeni jednostavni opisi dvanaestogodišnje djevojčice nisu joj dali nikakvu dubinu. Umjesto osjećaja sažaljenja samo sam je doživjela kao površnu i poglupu.
I da, zlatna kosa. Zar nema nikakvog drugog opisa za kosu?! Njena duga, zlatna kosa. Njena ljepota. Kakva ljepota? Jedino spominje zlatnu kosu milijun puta i ništa drugo. Je li bila visoka, niska? Kakve je imala oči, usta? Malo više opisa ne bi škodilo!
-Giulia. Zanimljiv lik, ali opet... Koliko god bila zanimljiva, ovo je knjiga o Lucreziji i dosadilo mi je čitati pedeset stranica o Giuliji koja ljubuje sa muškarcem koji joj može biti djed!
-Sanchia. Još jedan ženski lik koja osim lukavosti i zavodljivosti nema nikakvu kvalitetu. Zanimljiv lik, ali je previše stranica zauzela njena jako bitna priča.
-Cesare Borgia. Piše na wikipediji kako je bio okrutan, ubojica, manipulator. Kad pročitaš nešto takvo dobiješ određenu predstavu kako bi lik trebao biti opisan. A ne... On je tako opisan da odmah padneš na njega. Zloban i zavodnik. Magnet za žene. Oh, to je takooo romantično. Uff. Opisan je kao razmažen klinac koji stalno kuka kako je on trebao biti veliki vojskovođa koji osvaja cijelu Europu, kao Julije Cezar. Jedina rekacija kad je ljut je stiskanje šaka. Mislim,stvarno? A namrgođeno lice, stisnuti zubi?
-Giovanni Sforza. Prvi Lucrezijin muž. Možete pogoditi kako je opisan-meek, weak, coward. I tako stotinu puta na stotinu stranica.
2)OPIS Italije tj. Rima ili manjak opisa Italije tj. Rima.
Ženska napiše nazive dvije ulice i sad joj trebam povjerovati da je radnja smještena u Rimu?
Kad bi izbacili nazive ulica i talijanska imena, radnja bi lako mogla biti smještena u bilo koji grad u bilo koje vrijeme! Uopće nemaš osjećaj da se radnja odvija u Italiji u 15. stoljeću!
A sad što mi svidjelo:
1) Priča. Kako je ovo ipak povijesni roman, podloga mu je u činjenicama ili iskrivljenim činjenicama. Zavjere, spletke, umorstva. O tome nije nikad dosadno čitati.
2) Radnja pred kraj romana. Zamjeram što se nešto interesantno počinje događati pred kraj romana.
*spoiler alert*
Tek na kraju romana Lucrezija dobija jednu novu dimenziju nakon što se nesretno zaljubi u Pedra. Ali, naravno, njena sreća ne potraje kratko jer joj brat i otac ubiju ljubavnika da ne bi osramotila cijelu obitelj. Nakon ovog dijela shvatiš u kakvom je vremenu i okruženju živjela pa se možeš na neki način povezati s likom. Ali, trebalo je 200 stranica kako bi se došlo do toga.
Bilo kako bilo, knjiga nije loša i kad je postala zanimljiva-bam! Kraj romana. Plaidy je jako lukava što je ostavila roman nedovršenim pa sad moram pročitati i drugi dio. Lukavo Plaidy, lukavo.
July 22, 2011
Because of the TV Series on the Borgias, I reread this and Light on Lucrezia Alsdo by Jean Plaidy. I believe anyone watching this series woud gain a lot by reading a Plaidy first. She lived from 1 Sept 1906 until 18 January 1993. Her real name was Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert. She wrote under many names (8-15). Over 31 novels were written as Victoria Holt and sold over 51 million copies and were gothic romances. She aso wote fiction as Philippa Carr that were set in historical times, though the characters were imaginary. Her 30 romantic tales/ mystery novels written under Eleanor Burford are hard to find. She spent 15 years in the 50s and 60s writting well researched historical novels numbering about 90. There are the Plantagenet Series, the Tudor Series etc. and far surpass any college history class I ever took, presenting accurate accounts of history in a credible manner. I researched a few and found little poetic license. Then came Victoria Holt (her most successful alias selling ovf 75 million copies un 20 languages). Her last pseudonym was as Phillppa Carr and the novels took place just before WWII and are narrated by a 'woman of the time" centered around auithentic historical episodes. I have never read a Plaidy under a 5 due to her ability to make history come aive through her characters. Her other books are enjoyable and range from a 3 to a 5. Unfortunatelyi I do not own all the Plaidys - but am working on it.
January 24, 2011
Once again, Plaidy's character assessment is what makes this book. Her characterization of all the characters, but particular Cesare and his relationship with Lucrezia, worked so well to bring them alive and allow us to understand them.
Plaidy's forward note which states "Only by judging the Borgias against their own times can they arouse our sympathy, and only if they arouse our sympathy can they be understood" is incredibly accurate, not just of this novel and the Borgias but of history in general. And Plaidy certainly succeeds in accomplishing this. If you want a novel that will make sense of the shocking lives of the Borgia's, this is it. I'm already diving into it's sequel (Light on Lucrezia).
Plaidy's forward note which states "Only by judging the Borgias against their own times can they arouse our sympathy, and only if they arouse our sympathy can they be understood" is incredibly accurate, not just of this novel and the Borgias but of history in general. And Plaidy certainly succeeds in accomplishing this. If you want a novel that will make sense of the shocking lives of the Borgia's, this is it. I'm already diving into it's sequel (Light on Lucrezia).
September 26, 2009
My first Plaidy and I am hooked! I will say it did take me longer than expected to really get into the book. But once I did, I didn't want to put it down. I am waiting for the 2nd book is this series to arrive in the mail! The Borgia family is very interesting! I read The Borgia Bride a few months ago and wanted to read more. I enjoyed this version of the Borgias maybe more than Kalogridis' perhaps because it doesn't seem as exaggerated. It is a quick read which was a nice change of pace for me since lastely it seems as if I have only been reading books that are 500 pages long!
April 14, 2017
I got this and the sequel as a bargain ebook, but I'm not that thrilled with the writing or the story. There is something flat and one-dimensional about the characters. Also knowing the basic history takes the element of surprise out of the plot. This might have been a classic of its time, but it feels dated to me. I will give Plaidy credit for being one of the first people to show Lucrezia Borgia as more of a victim of her warped family than the vicious poisoner of her mythic persona. She did her homework.
March 29, 2011
Totally addictive thus far. Purchased for my Kindle - but I think this one is certainly a keeper - so I'll be ordering the actual book. Looking forward to the HBO/Showtime series now...
Changed this to FIVE stars - and I downloaded the next installment immediately to my Kindle...
Changed this to FIVE stars - and I downloaded the next installment immediately to my Kindle...
July 6, 2015
A good story, but drag down but a little too much telling rather than showing. However, I appreciate that Plaidy didn't use a lot of foreshadowing or irony that is all too easy to go overboard on in historical fiction.
April 6, 2019
I think this is a great introduction to the Borgia family, shining a great light on Lucrezia and showing us a fabulous insight into her family and the time period.
September 19, 2025
This story depicts the immense corruption, nepotism and double standards in the Catholic Church during the time of the Borgia family. One Cardinal, Roderigo Borgia, by offering bribes and rich placements to others, gained the title of Pontiff Alexander VI in 1492. He already had at least four children with one woman, whom he had established in a nearby house. The boys constantly vied for attention and favours; the girl, Lucrezia, was thirteen when she was married off for status. The family originally came from Spain so a boy, Giovanni, was sent there to mature and learn to lead armies before inheriting a dukedom. The next boy, Cesare, was told he had to enter the Church, though it was not at all his wish.
Women were supposed to have only one man, but men were commonly sleeping with many women. The Pope changed mistresses often, and saw so much of his daughter that people remarked on it. While the story does not so far show incest, it's clear that Cesare at least might have gone that way, as his angst and determination to get out of his robes led him to terrible deeds, such as poisoning, stabbing and hiring killers. The brothers were closer to the sister than a normal family life would include. By the end of the story, Lucrezia has made her husband flee to save his life (from the Pope), France has invaded Italy and sacked Rome and gone back again (German and Swiss mercenaries did the fighting, the French and Italians did not much at all), and Giovanni is suspiciously dead. Lucrezia is being married off again, just another pawn. Plagues and fevers (probably malaria) come and go.
The New World is not mentioned except that Spain is shown as leading the way in exploring and dominating the world, and as a Catholic country this interested the Pope. Given the time frame, I Googled it, and I got: "He issued the papal bull Inter Caetera, which established the division of newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal and justified the colonization and subjugation of Indigenous peoples in the Americas."
Nowadays we would expect to see this book written to show even a glimpse of the poorer people's lives. Who made the glass, fabrics and shoes? Who grew the food? What happened to the unwanted babies? Modern books such as Bitter Greens, City of Silk, and The Instrumentalist shine a light on these areas. The Borgias have slaves and servants, and that's all we get.
I would have liked a map of the Italian nation states at the time, as France, Aragon and other areas of Spain (which was not united) kept having claims to this and that area, and cities resisted or obliged the invaders.
Women were supposed to have only one man, but men were commonly sleeping with many women. The Pope changed mistresses often, and saw so much of his daughter that people remarked on it. While the story does not so far show incest, it's clear that Cesare at least might have gone that way, as his angst and determination to get out of his robes led him to terrible deeds, such as poisoning, stabbing and hiring killers. The brothers were closer to the sister than a normal family life would include. By the end of the story, Lucrezia has made her husband flee to save his life (from the Pope), France has invaded Italy and sacked Rome and gone back again (German and Swiss mercenaries did the fighting, the French and Italians did not much at all), and Giovanni is suspiciously dead. Lucrezia is being married off again, just another pawn. Plagues and fevers (probably malaria) come and go.
The New World is not mentioned except that Spain is shown as leading the way in exploring and dominating the world, and as a Catholic country this interested the Pope. Given the time frame, I Googled it, and I got: "He issued the papal bull Inter Caetera, which established the division of newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal and justified the colonization and subjugation of Indigenous peoples in the Americas."
Nowadays we would expect to see this book written to show even a glimpse of the poorer people's lives. Who made the glass, fabrics and shoes? Who grew the food? What happened to the unwanted babies? Modern books such as Bitter Greens, City of Silk, and The Instrumentalist shine a light on these areas. The Borgias have slaves and servants, and that's all we get.
I would have liked a map of the Italian nation states at the time, as France, Aragon and other areas of Spain (which was not united) kept having claims to this and that area, and cities resisted or obliged the invaders.
June 3, 2018
Who hasn’t heard of the name Borgia? That is the only thing I have heard of, their name, until picking up this book. Roderigo Borgia, a Spanish Cardinal (who knew he was Spanish and not Italian), had many mistresses but he had a favorite and with her Giovanni, Cesare, Lucretia and Goffredo. However Roderigo was not content to be a cardinal. He was determined to be the Pope no matter what the cost. I don’t know that I knew any popes had children that were openly acknowledged, but Alexander VI did. And after being elected Pope, Alexander was not afraid to use nepotism because the Borgias were going to rule and in order to rule they had to stick together. The children were adored, but of course he had a favorite, and like all stories of sibling rivalry since Cain and Abel, this was not going to be a happy ending. Lucretia, not unlike her father and brothers, enjoyed everything that was beautiful and only wanted things to be pleasant. If they weren’t, she wasn’t interested. She couldn’t bear to have people spread cruel rumors about her brothers because she loved them dearly, but not in any way that I recognized. The author did a good job of giving the feeling that things were horribly twisted with the Borgias without coming right out and saying exactly what it was because so many things haven’t been proven. Lucretia is painted as extremely naïve, and I can’t believe she could be so gullible and so blind as to what her father and brothers were capable of, not to mention what they actually did. Cesare knew he could get away with murder and still be accepted and therefore was never punished accordingly. After all he was a Borgia and they lived by a different set of rules. I don’t pretend that this was anything but historical fiction, heavy on the fiction, but it was an adequate introduction into the Borgia world.
October 25, 2020
This is only the second book I've read about Lucrezia Borgia, and it was a much more realistic portrayal than the first. I know many people differ on whether or not they think she had a sexual relationship with her father, the Pope, and her brother Cesare, but I tend to lean more towards Ms. Plaidy's opinion, which is that they were just VERY close and that Lucrezia was more a pawn for her father and brother than some vicious poison-ness.
The book opens with Lucrezia's birth and follows her through to the wedding day of her second marriage. We see her grow up with her two very competitive brothers, Cesare and Giovanni, who constantly fight for her attention and love. Their destructive relationship comes to a head near the end of the novel, and Lucrezia must come to terms with the monster that her brother Cesare has become. She comes to fear him, which is why (according to Ms. Plaidy) Lucrezia acts the way she does around him, always subservient and fawning all over him.
In this telling of her life, Lucrezia is portrayed as innocent. She does what she's told to do; she goes where she's told to go, and she marries when she's told to marry. She can never get too close to any outsiders because her brothers' intense jealousy is always a concern. Cesare will kill anyone who rubs him the wrong way, and anyone who gets too close to his sister automatically falls into that category. Lucrezia just wants to live a quiet simple life in the country, but her ambitious father has other plans for his beautiful daughter.
Overall, I absolutely recommend this (as I do all Jean Plaidy books!). I really enjoyed this version of the life of Lucrezia Borgia, and as soon as I finished it, I picked up "Light on Lucrezia," which tells of the second half of her life and picks up right where this book left off.
The book opens with Lucrezia's birth and follows her through to the wedding day of her second marriage. We see her grow up with her two very competitive brothers, Cesare and Giovanni, who constantly fight for her attention and love. Their destructive relationship comes to a head near the end of the novel, and Lucrezia must come to terms with the monster that her brother Cesare has become. She comes to fear him, which is why (according to Ms. Plaidy) Lucrezia acts the way she does around him, always subservient and fawning all over him.
In this telling of her life, Lucrezia is portrayed as innocent. She does what she's told to do; she goes where she's told to go, and she marries when she's told to marry. She can never get too close to any outsiders because her brothers' intense jealousy is always a concern. Cesare will kill anyone who rubs him the wrong way, and anyone who gets too close to his sister automatically falls into that category. Lucrezia just wants to live a quiet simple life in the country, but her ambitious father has other plans for his beautiful daughter.
Overall, I absolutely recommend this (as I do all Jean Plaidy books!). I really enjoyed this version of the life of Lucrezia Borgia, and as soon as I finished it, I picked up "Light on Lucrezia," which tells of the second half of her life and picks up right where this book left off.
August 27, 2021
It took me a little while to get into this book as the tale begins vwry much at the beginning and recounts Lucrezia as a small child, so these chapters were not particularly exiting, but once I got further in I was entralled and captivated.
I thought Plaidy did a great job of using history in her work of fiction. Facts can often be a plod to wade through, but the story never felt stagnant for me. Perhaps it is the familiarity of the characters (as I am well versed in my reading of the people) which induced me to read.
The sensuality that underlies the central relationships was artfully and tastefully suggested. It was never overt which kept the story romantic and dramatic and as such stuff remains conjecture, I appreciate that it was never definitive.
I wasn't aware when purchasing my copy that it was originally published in the 60's. (If I have that correct) though a book which tells a period tale, the writing felt quite contemporary.
This book struck me as the dramatic source material for the tv series Borgias. Which I throughly enjoyed.
The biggest difference between this and the show was the characterisation of Giovanni Sforza. Plaidy has made him a rather sympathetic character. I actually felt moved by his role in this.
I would recommend this as a charming read for the Borgia/renaissance enthusiast
I thought Plaidy did a great job of using history in her work of fiction. Facts can often be a plod to wade through, but the story never felt stagnant for me. Perhaps it is the familiarity of the characters (as I am well versed in my reading of the people) which induced me to read.
The sensuality that underlies the central relationships was artfully and tastefully suggested. It was never overt which kept the story romantic and dramatic and as such stuff remains conjecture, I appreciate that it was never definitive.
I wasn't aware when purchasing my copy that it was originally published in the 60's. (If I have that correct) though a book which tells a period tale, the writing felt quite contemporary.
This book struck me as the dramatic source material for the tv series Borgias. Which I throughly enjoyed.
The biggest difference between this and the show was the characterisation of Giovanni Sforza. Plaidy has made him a rather sympathetic character. I actually felt moved by his role in this.
I would recommend this as a charming read for the Borgia/renaissance enthusiast
April 24, 2020
This was not worth staying up late to finish, but I knew I would never pick it up again. Now I know more than I wanted to know.
Analysis:The most beautiful woman in Rome, Lucrezia Borgia, was born into a family—and a destiny—she could not hope to escape . . .
Fifteenth-century Rome: The Borgia family is on the rise. Lucrezia’s father, Pope Alexander VI, places his illegitimate daughter and her only 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.
Young Lucrezia gradually accepts her fate as she comes to terms with the delicate nature of her relationships with her father and brothers. The unbreakable bond she shares with them both exhilarates and terrifies her as her innocence begins to fade. Soon she will understand that her family’s love pales next to their quest for power and that she herself is the greatest tool in their political arsenal.
From the inimitable pen of Jean Plaidy, this family’s epic legend is replete
with passion, intrigue, and murder—and it’s only the beginning.
Analysis:The most beautiful woman in Rome, Lucrezia Borgia, was born into a family—and a destiny—she could not hope to escape . . .
Fifteenth-century Rome: The Borgia family is on the rise. Lucrezia’s father, Pope Alexander VI, places his illegitimate daughter and her only 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.
Young Lucrezia gradually accepts her fate as she comes to terms with the delicate nature of her relationships with her father and brothers. The unbreakable bond she shares with them both exhilarates and terrifies her as her innocence begins to fade. Soon she will understand that her family’s love pales next to their quest for power and that she herself is the greatest tool in their political arsenal.
From the inimitable pen of Jean Plaidy, this family’s epic legend is replete
with passion, intrigue, and murder—and it’s only the beginning.
February 6, 2025
Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, and sister of Cesare and Giovanni, are all part of a feared family. This account is of the early life of Lucrezia as she matures into a young woman.
After having watching ‘The Borgias’ tv series I could think of no better way than reading about them. I have always found Jean Plaidy books to be very informative and full of historical detail.
However because the books are old they can be a bit dated and I do feel a little bland. Historical novels today are very lavish and can be quite sexy with plenty of bodice ripping. The historical details are there but I did find I get a little bored as the books can end up like a documentry. This is not a complete negative as the books are interesting and JP has written over the years many really good historical accounts and her tudor series is well worth reading.
This is the first of two books about The Borgia family and I would recommend it ago as JP is good with history but compared with today just a little old fashioned.
After having watching ‘The Borgias’ tv series I could think of no better way than reading about them. I have always found Jean Plaidy books to be very informative and full of historical detail.
However because the books are old they can be a bit dated and I do feel a little bland. Historical novels today are very lavish and can be quite sexy with plenty of bodice ripping. The historical details are there but I did find I get a little bored as the books can end up like a documentry. This is not a complete negative as the books are interesting and JP has written over the years many really good historical accounts and her tudor series is well worth reading.
This is the first of two books about The Borgia family and I would recommend it ago as JP is good with history but compared with today just a little old fashioned.
July 23, 2022
I’ve always had an avid curiosity (probably more like morbid curiosity) about this infamous family, The Borgias.
The rumors that circulated about them: incest, nepotism, all consuming love, power-hungry, liars, killers, rulers. Is what made them transcend into history and one of the most infamous family of all.
This story focuses on Lucrezia Borgia and I quite liked the way it portrays her. I’ve always thought that Lucrezia was the product of her upbringing. She had to follow orders. She had to learn to survive.
This author makes Lucrezia and innocent girl, because that was what she was: just a girl. A beloved beautiful girl used and moved for the political growth of the men in her family.
I enjoyed this book and the portrayal of Lucrezia. What kind of irked me was the spelling of Rodrigo Borgia’s name, the author writes “Roderigo” and that’s not correct in Spanish. Other than that, it was an enjoyable book.
Would I recommend? Yes. Would I reread? Probably in 10 or so years.
The rumors that circulated about them: incest, nepotism, all consuming love, power-hungry, liars, killers, rulers. Is what made them transcend into history and one of the most infamous family of all.
This story focuses on Lucrezia Borgia and I quite liked the way it portrays her. I’ve always thought that Lucrezia was the product of her upbringing. She had to follow orders. She had to learn to survive.
This author makes Lucrezia and innocent girl, because that was what she was: just a girl. A beloved beautiful girl used and moved for the political growth of the men in her family.
I enjoyed this book and the portrayal of Lucrezia. What kind of irked me was the spelling of Rodrigo Borgia’s name, the author writes “Roderigo” and that’s not correct in Spanish. Other than that, it was an enjoyable book.
Would I recommend? Yes. Would I reread? Probably in 10 or so years.
April 6, 2024
My comments in video: https://youtu.be/aF3eByetG_E
A work of historical novel that is focused mainly on the sentimental, so much that important characters such as Savonarola and Della Rovere are only mentioned superficially. It is not as good as Alexandre Dumas's, but it has greater psychological depth than Puzo's. Here I highlight some interesting relationships with Napoleon, with the Parma Charterhouse of Stendhal, and even with the Sangurimas of Juan de la Cuadra.
I await your comments
Una obra de novela histórica que está centrada principalmente en lo sentimental, tanto así que personajes importantes como Savonarola y Della Rovere son solo mencionados de pasada. No es tan buena como la de Alexandre Dumas, pero tiene una profundidad psicológica mayor que la de Puzo. Acá destaco unas relaciones interesantes con Napoleón, con la Cartuja de Parma de Stendhal, e incluso con los Sangurimas de Juan de la Cuadra.
Espero sus comentarios
A work of historical novel that is focused mainly on the sentimental, so much that important characters such as Savonarola and Della Rovere are only mentioned superficially. It is not as good as Alexandre Dumas's, but it has greater psychological depth than Puzo's. Here I highlight some interesting relationships with Napoleon, with the Parma Charterhouse of Stendhal, and even with the Sangurimas of Juan de la Cuadra.
I await your comments
Una obra de novela histórica que está centrada principalmente en lo sentimental, tanto así que personajes importantes como Savonarola y Della Rovere son solo mencionados de pasada. No es tan buena como la de Alexandre Dumas, pero tiene una profundidad psicológica mayor que la de Puzo. Acá destaco unas relaciones interesantes con Napoleón, con la Cartuja de Parma de Stendhal, e incluso con los Sangurimas de Juan de la Cuadra.
Espero sus comentarios
December 16, 2017
I’ve always felt I should read Jean Plaidy’s books. She’s ubiquitous in the historical fiction sections of bookshops and libraries, and she writes about periods that I find interesting. It was only a matter of time. Last winter, I went slightly wild at the Book Barn and came away with a pile of her novels, which I’m only now starting to tackle. I chose to begin with the first of her two novels about Lucrezia Borgia, which may have been a mistake, as it hasn’t done much to win me over. Over-seasoned, two-dimensional and extremely dated, it feels like stepping back in time for all the wrong reasons...
For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/11/21/m...
For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/11/21/m...
December 11, 2017
A late '50s Plaidy when she was producing some of her best historical novels. Lucrezia is the third of the illegitimate children of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia who later became Pope Alexander VI. In an age of corruption Alexander takes nepotism to a new level, using his children as pawns in his power game. Plaidy portrays Lucrezia not as a scheming poisoner but as a naive, not very bright beauty manipulated by her family. Well paced, this first of 2 novels takes us through Lucrezia's childhood to the start of her second marriage.
April 20, 2022
De Britse Jean Plaidy is één van de meest gelezen schrijfsters van de twintigste eeuw. De reden waarom haar naam ons niks zegt is tweeledig. Enerzijds gebruikte zij tal van pseudoniemen. Zij was actief in diverse genres en voor elk genre gebruikte ze een ander pseudoniem. Haar bekendste pseudoniem (Jean Plaidy dus) gebruikte ze voor historische romans (oorspronkelijk schreef ze die onder de naam Ellalice Tate, maar daar is ze terecht op teruggekomen). Als Victoria Holt schreef ze "gothic romances". Voor haar ‘Daughters of England’ saga gebruikte ze het pseudoniem Philippa Carr en voor haar detectiveverhalen Elbur Ford als ze op reële gebeurtenissen gebaseerd waren en Kathleen Kellow voor pure fictie. Onder haar echte naam (Eleanor Burford) schreef ze "light romantic novels". Het meeste van haar werk wordt anderzijds tot pulpliteratuur gerekend (ze schreef o.m. voor "Mills & Boon") en bijgevolg wordt er weinig aandacht aan besteed. Toch vind ik het nuttig van eens iets van haar te lezen, al was het maar omdat ze bij haar overlijden (aan boord van een cruiseship, terwijl ze aan een nieuwe roman aan het werken was) zo'n honderd miljoen boeken had verkocht, waarvan 75 miljoen als Victoria Holt. Maar helaas is een vertaling (Jan van Rheenen) geen geschikt middel om iets te weten te komen over haar stijl (toch wel ontzettend veel taalfouten!). Nochtans werden de boeken die ze onder de naam Victoria Holt schreef, ooit toegeschreven aan niemand minder dan Daphne du Maurier! En wat "Lucrezia Borgia" betreft, ondanks haar vele opzoekingswerk, ben ik toch niet van plan het tweede deel te lezen.
January 13, 2024
Loved this novel!!!
Managed to finish it in a single night (which ventured into early morning :)), and I woke up just thinking about this book. The storyline and all the characters are so captivating, absolutely none of Plaid's characters are dull or underdeveloped.
The dynamics of the Borgia and how they interact with the "outside world" (AKA anyone who's not a Borgia) was so fascinating and I loved every single Borgia and how despite contrasting personalities all manage to come together as this "one flesh".
Managed to finish it in a single night (which ventured into early morning :)), and I woke up just thinking about this book. The storyline and all the characters are so captivating, absolutely none of Plaid's characters are dull or underdeveloped.
The dynamics of the Borgia and how they interact with the "outside world" (AKA anyone who's not a Borgia) was so fascinating and I loved every single Borgia and how despite contrasting personalities all manage to come together as this "one flesh".
March 28, 2020
While her research was OK, the author assigned personality traits that seem very far fetched to me. I think she painted Cesare as far too evil (even as a child) and painted Lucrezia as far too weak. From my reading of the history of the Borgia, her characters did not match what I imagined. It is a historic fiction, so she can give them the personalities that she wants, but I think the real people were likely much more dimensional than the characters in this book.
March 22, 2021
I've read probably about a dozen Jean Plaidy novels (which isn't even coming close to the number she's written) and I really like her writing style. I don't really know anything about the Borgias so can't speak to the accuracy but I always find her writing to be intriguing and usually, at least when I check Wikipedia, to be pretty close to the truth. Anyway no different for this book. I'll give it a B+.
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