The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in
history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author
of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip,
slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G.
J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance
family and their storied milieu.
They burst out of obscurity in Spain not only to capture the great prize
of the papacy, but to do so twice. Throughout a tumultuous
half-century--as popes, statesmen, warriors, lovers, and breathtakingly
ambitious political adventurers--they held center stage in the glorious
and blood-drenched pageant known to us as the Italian Renaissance,
standing at the epicenter of the power games in which Europe's kings and
Italy's warlords gambled for life-and-death stakes.
Five centuries after their fall--a fall even more sudden than their rise
to the heights of power--they remain immutable symbols of the depths to
which humanity can descend: Rodrigo Borgia, who bought the papal crown
and prostituted the Roman Church; Cesare Borgia, who became first a
teenage cardinal and then the most treacherous cutthroat of a violent
time; Lucrezia Borgia, who was as shockingly immoral as she was
beautiful. These have long been stock figures in the dark chronicle of
European villainy, their name synonymous with unspeakable evil.
But did these Borgias of legend actually exist? Grounding his narrative
in exhaustive research and drawing from rarely examined key sources,
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, when Western civilization simultaneously
wallowed in appalling brutality and soared to extraordinary heights.
Stunning in scope, rich in telling detail, G. J. Meyer's The Borgias
is an indelible work sure to become the new standard on a family and a
world that continue to enthrall.
Praise for The Borgias
"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
"The mention of the Borgia family often conjures up images of a ruthless
drive for power via assassination, serpentine plots, and sexual
debauchery. . . . [G. J. Meyer] convincingly looks past the mythology
to present a more nuanced portrait."--Booklist
"Meyer brings his considerable skills to another infamous Renaissance
family, the Borgias [and] a fresh look into the machinations of power
in Renaissance Italy. . . . [He] makes a convincing case that the
Borgias have been given a raw deal."--Historical Novels Review
"Fascinating . . . a gripping history of a tempestuous time and an
infamous family."--Shelf Awareness
