Blood & Beauty

In the historical epilogue to this lush novel author Sarah Dunant says

"More than many in history, the Borgias have suffered from an excess of bad press. While their behavior--personal and political--was often brutal and corrupt, they lived in brutal and corrupt times; and the thirst for diplomatic gossip and scandal, along with undoubted prejudice against their Spanish nationality, played its part in embellishing what was already a colorful story. Once the slander was abroad, much of it was incorporated into the historical record without being challenged. Spin, it seems, was a political art long before the modern word was introduced.

Subtitled, The Borgias, A Novel, this book is part of my reading list for consideration for the Maine show more Readers Choice Award. It certainly is a worthy entry into the ring. While I had heard of the Borgias and their corruption over the years, I don't think I'd ever read anything that presented the story of this infamous family in such detail. Certainly authors have leeway when writing fiction, and Dunant makes no claim to have us see this as a biography. She has steeped herself in the history of the era, becoming as familiar as possible with source material, both fictional and archival. Her previous books, such as Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, and Sacred Hearts, have shown her mastery of the language, the customs, the politics and the scenery of the era but with fictional characters. In this one, she tackles historical characters, treading carefully among the information available to present us with a plausible rendition of this well-known and oft-villified family.

Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo Borgia, ascends the throne of Peter after some intense backstage maneuvering. He promptly makes his illegitimate son Cesare a cardinal at the age of 19, and begins marrying off his other children to various royal partners to form alliances to bolster his political ambitions. This is a time when Italy was still not a unified country, existing instead as series of city-states, when the Holy Roman Empire was gradually disintegrating, when Spain's power was on the rise. A Spaniard by birth, Alexander had to tread carefully through the politics of Italy, using the power of his office, as well as his love for his family to enhance his power, his wealth, and his ego.

His son Cesare, is a power hungry young man, well loved by all the ladies, unscrupulous in his relations with both church and state. The world has been fed stories about Cesare's relationship with his sister Lucrezia, the Pope's only and very beloved daughter. Dunant treats this relationship carefully, never allowing the undocumented rumors to overtake other possibilities. Certainly the two were close, but here they are portrayed as being very politically astute siblings who are under the tight rein of their father the Pope. While they may have been pawns and playthings, the author is careful to also let us see the power these women held in the male dominated arena.

Dunant gives us a richly drawn portrait of the Pope, his off-spring, his enemies, his mistresses and relations, his offspring, his warts, his dealings with foreign countries, all the while showing us possibilities of humanity not often attributed to this family. In addition, the customs, the fashions, and the history of the period are intricately described, taking the reader back to a time of rich but vile corruption, political perfidy, and horrifying treachery.

Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this. This is definitely Dunant's best work. I read somewhere that there may be a sequel in the offing. Let's hope so. There's much more to this story that deserves a well-researched, objective, and humane look.

I also sampled a significant part of this one in audio. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini does a stellar job of giving us the characters in different voices, accents, and attitudes. The print copy includes an excellent family tree and map of the different political entities of the era, a definite plus for those of us needing a history refresher. show less

The book covers the ten-year period between 1492 and 1502, beginning with Roderigo Borgia’s election as Pope Alexander VI and ending with Lucrezia’s third marriage. Once the family patriarch has ascended the Throne of Peter, he is concerned with consolidating his power: “For the Borgias to achieve the next rung of immortality the bricks and mortar must be human ones: sons and daughters, cousins, nieces and nephews, each one bringing another silken thread of loyalty and influence into the web of family, secure and powerful enough to run Rome and beyond” (67). To create his dynasty, the pope uses his progeny as pawns to arrange alliances and has no qualms about bending the rules and breaking agreements if necessary. Cesare, the show more eldest son, perhaps best summarizes the Borgia tactics when he argues in favour of causing outrage in society: “’The more outrage the better. This way people will fear us while we are alive and never – ever – forget us when we are dead’” (486).

Dunant obviously did considerable research in preparation for writing this work of historical fiction. The bibliography at the end of the book is extensive. She seems to have sifted through various books about this notorious family and then set out to write a realistic portrayal. She avoids some of the most salacious speculations which suggest incestuous relations between father and daughter and between Cesare and his sister.

The author is most successful in humanizing Lucrezia. She emerges as a fully rounded character who provokes both understanding and sympathy. She proves to be as intelligent as the men in her family and to possess more honour. At the beginning she is an innocent, romantic twelve-year-old but her experiences strip away her naivety. She realizes she is “’just a piece on a chessboard to be moved or taken when and where it suits [Borgia] ambitions’” (466) and learns to “roll her sorrow up into a small tight ball and swallow it deep down inside her” (316) until “her sorrow becomes strategy” (453). Gradually, she discovers “disobedience. She, who has been brought up to honor her family and to do everything she is told. She, who has asked only for two things directly in her life: that the two men for whom she felt affection should be spared, only to see both of them slaughtered” (455).

Her third marriage, to the Duke of Ferrara, she sees as an escape since she understands Cesare is correct when he says, “’Regardless of whom you marry, if your next husband is not powerful enough to take you away, you will always be a Borgia first and someone’s wife second. . . . the next marriage must be another kind of union; a legitimate ruler with real power, from a family with roots deep enough to withstand the gales of history’” (466). Dunant has planned “a concluding novel in a few years’ time” (504) and it will presumably explore whether Lucrezia’s marriage into such a family is happy and whether she is able to satisfy her yearning “to build a court of [her] own, poets and musicians around [her]” (466).

Cesare is the character who is least sympathetic. Even his father recognizes “the coldness in his soul” (68). He seems to have no positive qualities to fully redeem his viciousness and brutality, except a love for his sister, and that love often seems inappropriate. To emphasize that his love for Lucrezia is genuine, Dunant has him obsessing about being forgiven by her for killing her second husband; his last words to her in the novel express his desire to hear “’The words that say you love me and that I am forgiven’” (498).

This was an entertaining read, although sometimes the continual political machinations and changes in allegiances became somewhat confusing. A knowledge of Italian history would be helpful in understanding the context of the novel. Having watched The Borgias, the television series starring Jeremy Irons, I found myself making comparisons with the two interpretations of the infamous Borgia family. show less

I have been interested in all things Borgia since I was 12 years old and read my first (not great) novel about Lucrezia. Since that time I have read much fiction and non-fiction about this fascinating family and watched the two recent TV series (one US - not so good, and one European - brilliant) and I came to read Dunant's book simply because it was about the family and I couldn't NOT read it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this book immensely as it delivered the characters to me in a way that was both familiar and new. Dunant writes well and interleaves historical fact with good story telling. I was appreciative that where the historical facts aren't clear (eg. who killed Juan Borgia?) she didn't take the storyline show more down paths of fantasy. I think this book would be a good introduction for anyone with a general interest in the Borgias as well as for anyone with a bit more knowledge who just wants to slip into their world for awhile. show less

I loved this book! It was fictional-history with a soap-opera twist!

Having been raised a catholic girl, I did know the Borgia name. I did know the medieval church was a well of corruption. Sarah Dunant took it to a whole new level for me. In her epilogue she states "....the Borgias have suffered from an excess of bad press. While their behavior-personal and political-was often brutal and corrupt, they lived in brutal and corrupt times." She states that she drew her story from a host of modern historians, who studied the history with a more discriminating mind-set. If these historians went easy on the Borgias, I cannot imagine what earlier historians had to say!

15th century Italy was like a piece of pie, cut haphazardly into 7 or eight show more pieces. Each piece ruled separately by ruthless and brutal men. The Papal States were a small portion of Italy. But with Catholicism being supreme the Pope held power like no other ruler. With the death of Pope Innocent VIII in 1492, the throne of the church was up for grabs. Rodrigo Borgia, a Spaniard, had been waiting for just this moment. A Cardinal of the church, a henchman for Innocent, he was in the prime position to take over. The other Cardinals had their doubts. The main problem; he wasn't Italian. With force and bribes Borgia battled his way through the papal tribunal and won the crown of Christ.

Cardinals could not marry. There was nothing stopping them from having a mistress. Thus, Rodrigo Borgia fathered 4 children. At the time of his assent to Pope, all four of these children were at marriageable age. If you consider 12-17 marriageable! Borgia's plan: marry these children off to the most lucrative, powerful families of Italy and Europe and build a kingdom so strong, no one would be able to penetrate it. 3 sons, 1 daughter, these were his steps to wealth and power. It is a fascinating story, filled with wars, sex, family relationships and the church at the center of it all

When I read fictional-history, my phone is always near-by. I love to fact check, then grade the authors on their ability to get it right. Sarah Dunant gets a B from me. There were only a few things I could not verify. Of course she took liberties with conversation and events, but it's "fictional", so that never enters into my thought process.

I highly recommend this book to those of you who love history with a little spice! show less

I must admit that I don't usually enjoy Sarah Dunant books, having tried all three of her most popular works, including "The Birth of Venus." I always felt as if I couldn't quite connect with the characters, and that there was something off or stilted about the writing style. Dunant is a talented writer, but I just accepted the fact that her books weren't for me, although it did always annoy me that I couldn't quite put my finger on why.
When this one came out, I went against my decision to leave Dunant to other readers, because I am fascinated with the Borgias. And I am so very glad that I did! This book ended up being everything that I could hope for in a novel about the Borgias, or in a historical fiction novel, for that matter.
I'm show more not quite sure why I always felt so flatly distanced from Dunant's characters in her other books - but in this one, I was unable to put it down, completely immersed in the fascinating, lavishly dark story. The Borgias were such a drama-filled family, there's so much shocking material that it would be difficult to write a book that's not exciting. And yet, I also appreciated the details of the lavish and opulent setting, and the vivid characters themselves. Lucrezia was the character that I found most memorable and realistic, and her cold brother Cesare was chillingly sinister.
Corruption, rivalries, power struggles, dark secrets, passionate affairs, and of course the infamous incest story - it's all here.
With such material, it would be easy for a book to slip into the feeling of... off-putting sensationalism, as I have found in other Borgia HF. I did not get that impression at all in this book. Perhaps Dunant's more reserved, serious writing lends itself well to such a soap opera type story.
Recommended. show less

While reading this fictionalized account about Pope Alexander VI (who ascended to the papacy in 1492) and his children (who included Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia), I kept googling to check on the facts, because what Dunant wrote seemed too outrageous to be true. Alas, not only does she adhere meticulously to the historical record, but when there is ambiguity, she gives the characters the benefit of the doubt. She fleshes out what is known with imagined dialogue, but her story draws so heavily on the known historical record that it hardly seems like fiction at all. More is the pity, unfortunately, because, as one of the characters observes, the Vatican in those days was more like a bordello than a court. Moreover, children, money, and show more cardinalships were scandalously traded for political gains. Enemies of the papacy were routinely poisoned or dumped into the Tiber River.

One of this Pope’s weaknesses was perceived to be his great love for his children, although Dunant makes the case that in addition to his parental affection, the Pope relied on their loyalty in the treacherous atmosphere of 15th Century Rome to support his (and their) advancement. To that end, he first married off his favorite son Juan, but Juan was murdered in 1497, possibly by the jealous second son Cesare. Cesare was made a cardinal by his father at age 18, and after Juan’s death, became his father’s chief advisor. The Pope’s daughter Lucrezia was married off to secure a political liaison when Lucrezia was 13. A younger brother Jofre was married off at age 12. All of these arrangements were made to consolidate the power of the Pope.

Lucrezia ended up being married three times; her first two husbands were deemed expendable after changes in the balance of power, and they were done away with, again probably by Cesare.

You may be wondering how it is that Pope Alexander VI, originally Rodrigo Borgia, had all these children. Mistresses were common at the time, and indeed, many of the cardinals in Rome evinced the tell-tale blush of syphillis. [The first written records of an outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1494/1495 in Naples, Italy, during the French invasion. After the departure of the French, the Italians - visiting the same prostitutes, became infected with the “French Disease” in turn. Cesare Borgia was among the cardinals who suffered from the disease.]

Dunant follows the family (and all of its extensions) over the ten years following Borgia’s election as Pope. The machinations of the family have inspired a large number of books and movies, for good reason. [It should also be noted that Niccolò Machiavelli, the author of the famous 16th-century political treatise, The Prince, based some of his principles of the effective uses of power on the policies of Cesare Borgia. Thus, not surprisingly, "Machiavellian" became an epithet for someone known for treachery, ambition, and ruthlessness.] In the life of the Borgias, and in this book, there is plenty of sex, violence, intrigue, scandal, betrayal, and just all around bad behavior. In other words, there is never a dull moment. If it hadn’t been pretty much true, I would have declared it absurdly unrealistic. I’m still disappointed I can’t do that.

Evaluation: This is a fascinating and eye-opening look at the unsavory and infamous goings-on behind the Vatican doors at the end of the 15th Century and beginning of the 16th. Dunant is apparently working on a sequel. show less

“To the victor go the spoils,” said Congressman William L. Marcy in 1831. The Borgia family is a great example of the truth of this axiom. If ever there was a family more reviled by its enemies, and consequently vilified by them after their downfall, one would be hard-pressed to find one. As a result, the Borgia name has become synonymous with intrigue, violence, sex, and infamy. In Blood and Beauty: The Borgias, Sarah Dunant tackles the challenging task of balancing the bad publicity that has flourished over the years with more favorable stories that shows the family as no different as their contemporaries in a violent and volatile time period in Italy, simultaneously showcasing their profound familial love, pride, and ambition.

The show more story bounces between Pope Alexander VI, Cesare, and Lucrezia from the moment Rodrigo gains the papacy to Lucrezia’s marriage into one of the oldest, most respected families in Italy. More importantly, she makes this very infamous family if not entirely respectable but at least sympathetic to modern readers who have heard nothing positive about what some consider being the first mafia family. While history has highlighted Alexander’s nepotism as well as his flouting of Church laws – especially regarding celibacy, Ms. Dunant takes care to inform readers how common this was among all of the Church leaders of this time and that Pope Alexander was not doing anything that their predecessors and successors did. Similarly, Cesare may appear cold-blooded and utterly ruthless, yet Ms. Dunant shows how he was doing nothing other than protecting his family against all of the other power families in Italy who were more than happy and all-too-eager to sweep this foreign family from power. In Ms. Dunant’s tale, Lucrezia is a complicit pawn in her father’s and brother’s ambitions, one who eventually learns the power of ruthless negotiation and uses that power to escape her family’s ever-expanding political machinations. While the Borgia family saga is frequently told and retold, Blood and Beauty adds a new spin to their story that balances their ambition with that of their contemporaries and shows how this extraordinary family was neither as innocent nor as guilty as the other reigning families of Italy.

All of Ms. Dunant’s novels are beautifully written, and Blood and Beauty is no exception. Capturing the lusciousness of the privileged with the pageantry of the Church and contrasting it with the stark poverty and hardship found among the rest of the population, Ms. Dunant uses exquisite imagery to create vivid descriptions that enhance the story. In addition, her gorgeous prose creates a depth of character as well as scene that animates the larger-than-life cast of characters and fleshes out the details of this long-past era of city-states and their myriad collaborations and betrayals. Of particular value is the clarity Ms. Dunant brings to the story. The cast of characters is very large and the relationships among them quite convoluted and fickle, yet Ms. Dunant makes it easy to understand the constantly changing alliances and power shifts. Because this dynamic is at the very core of the Borgias’ quest for power, the ability to understand the time period is essential, something Ms. Dunant admirably conveys.

Much like the subject matter, Blood and Beauty is an ambitious novel covering one of the more confusing periods in history. The prevalence of the city-state among a time when the other European countries were consolidating under a monarchy and centralized government not only added to the confusion but also to the bloodshed and ruthlessness for which the Borgias are most known. Ms. Dunant not only clarifies the confusing elements of the historical period but also creates a family picture that is surprisingly sympathetic. For all their rise to power and involvement in key country-defining decisions, the Borgia family is as much a pawn in their own political games as everyone else – subject to the caprices of other, more powerful and established leaders throughout Europe. The Borgia family is always a fascinating subject, and under Ms. Dunant’s pen, they truly come back to life. show less