Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia - a review

Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia – a review

8th December 2020

Absolutely delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia by Samantha Morris. This is the first biography to focus exclusively on the lives of the siblings Cesare and Lucrezia, from history’s most villified family, the Borgias.

As with all Pen & Sword books, this one is beautifully produced with a satin finished book jacket (designed by Jon WIlkinson) depicting the siblings. The border is just gorgeous, with golden and bronze hues – even before opening it, this is a very appealing book.

The author

Samantha Morris has a deep interest in the Italian Renaissance, which began when she was studying archaeology at the University of Winchester. The history of the Borgia family is her main area of interest.

My thoughts

I have to be honest, before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. In fact I am not sure I had even heard of Cesare! The name Lucrezia Borgia was familiar to me in that I knew she was a somewhat terrible person in history from a really notorious family, but that was about the extent of my very limited knowledge.

This book is perfect for someone similar to me, with no real prior understanding of the subjects, because it tells their stories really thoroughly – there is so much detail and a whole batch of really interesting photographs – I found it really fascinating.

Even if you are more of a historian than me, this book still has value, with the author having clearly done some indepth research which she has put together to form a really comprehensive biography.

As the author herself says at the end of the epilogue – “…the real story of history’s most notorious siblings is far more interesting than any fictionalised account based on nothing but rumour.”

I agree wholeheartedly – this really is a case of the truth being stranger than fiction. You really couldn’t make this stuff up!

Rating – 5/5 – this would make a perfect gift for a history buff or even for someone with just a passing interests in the Italian Renaissance.

My thanks to Samantha Morris and Pen & Sword Books for my #gifted copy and the opportunity to take part in the blog tour – apologies for being a day late, due to unavoidable tech issues.