The Borgias
The Hidden History
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- €7.49
Publisher Description
An unprecedented portrait of the Renaissance-era Borgia family and their storied milieu, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Tudors
“A vivid and at times startling reappraisal of one of the most notorious dynasties in history . . . If you thought you knew the Borgias, this book will surprise you.”—Tracy Borman, author of Queen of the Conqueror and Elizabeth’s Women
“Fascinating . . . a gripping history of a tempestuous time and an infamous family.”—Shelf Awareness
In the glorious and blood-drenched pageant known to us as the Italian Renaissance, the Borgias held center stage. History claims that Rodrigo Borgia bought the papal crown and prostituted the Roman Church; that Cesare Borgia, after becoming a teenage cardinal, turned into the most treacherous cutthroat of a violent time; and that Lucrezia Borgia, though beautiful, was also shockingly immoral. Today the members of this infamous dynasty remain immutable symbols of the depths to which humanity can descend.
But do the Borgias deserve this notorious reputation? Grounding his narrative in exhaustive research and drawing from rarely examined key sources, acclaimed author G. J. Meyer brings fascinating new insight to the real people within the age-encrusted myth. Equally illuminating is the light he shines on the brilliant circles in which the Borgias moved and the thrilling era they helped to shape—a time of wars and political convulsions that reverberate to the present day.
Stunning in scope, rich in telling detail, The Borgias is an indelible work sure to become the new standard on a family and a world that continue to enthrall.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
To his credit, Meyer (The Tudors) is forthright about how this supposed "hidden history" of the Italian Renaissance's most controversial family came to be: it is the product of " year of research on both sides of the Atlantic." Unfortunately, the shortcomings of such a limited inquiry are plainly obvious the bibliography reveals mostly 20th-century American and British texts, a few translations, and a handful of primary sources and his history is riddled with assumptions about the inner motivations of historical characters ("Perhaps it is in the nature of such men to be drawn by their own success into increasingly extreme positions. Certainly it was in Savonarola's nature"). Meyer portrays Rodrigo (later Pope Alexander VI) as affable and with a "childish love for pomp"; Cesare as wild but competent, and the victim of his enemies' slander; and, like many scholars before him, he removes Lucrezia from the role of seductress, painting her instead as a docile pawn (never mind her business acumen, building projects, and patronage). Though Meyer's is a much better primer on the complex dynasty than the ongoing TV show The Borgias, very little of this tedious account was heretofore hidden. Family tree, timeline, maps.
