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A review by lezreadalot
The Borgias: Power and Fortune by Paul Strathern
3.0
3.5 stars. Whew, what a trip. The Borgias are one of those historical families I know about via cultural osmosis, because how could you not, but there was so much about their entire deal that I had nooooo idea about, starting from the fact that this Pope was fucking and killing his way across Italy. I'm not particularly religious and I don't care about blasphemy, but I guess some of the sensibilities from my Catholic school girl roots must have stuck, because I was like clutching my pearls. BRO YOU'RE THE POPE. Obviously there's still a lot wrong with some parts of the church even today, so it's not like church scandals are an anomaly, but some of this stuff beggars belief.
Haha, anyway, it was interesting. A little dense with a lot of names and places to remember, and I haven't read about historical Italy since secondary school, so there were lots of things that I had to take time to absorb and understand, especially when it came to all the politicking between the countries. It's hard to believe some of this stuff when you judge it by a metric of what you think a pope would do (even a corrupt one) and what people in their positions would have been able to get away with. But it's credible enough. I doubt he could have actually succeeded in creating a papal dynasty (because surely the opposition would have ben too great?) but it's fascinating to think about the terrible possibilities. Listened to the audiobook as read by Julian Elfer, which was a bit dry for all this drama, but still good. Very interesting account; I almost want to read one that goes into more detail, especially about Lucrezia, and the other kids who weren't his faves.
Haha, anyway, it was interesting. A little dense with a lot of names and places to remember, and I haven't read about historical Italy since secondary school, so there were lots of things that I had to take time to absorb and understand, especially when it came to all the politicking between the countries. It's hard to believe some of this stuff when you judge it by a metric of what you think a pope would do (even a corrupt one) and what people in their positions would have been able to get away with. But it's credible enough. I doubt he could have actually succeeded in creating a papal dynasty (because surely the opposition would have ben too great?) but it's fascinating to think about the terrible possibilities. Listened to the audiobook as read by Julian Elfer, which was a bit dry for all this drama, but still good. Very interesting account; I almost want to read one that goes into more detail, especially about Lucrezia, and the other kids who weren't his faves.