Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

I’ve read a few books about the Borgias, but with the April premiere of Showtime’s series about the family I thought I should brush up on their story.  Madonna of the Seven Hills is the first in a two book series about Lucrezia Borgia and covers her childhood through the day of her second marriage.

The only daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, Lucrezia’s early years are spent happily enough with her mother and brothers.    Her two older brothers – Cesare and Giovanni – are bitter rivals even as children and Lucrezia soon discovers the subtle power of manipulation as the brothers battle for her affection.  Their lives change forever when Rodrigo manages to get himself elected Pope and they find themselves treated as quasi-royalty.

Spanish by birth, Rodrigo is a larger than life figure in his children’s lives.  He dreams of uniting all of Italy under the Borgia throne and sees the papacy as a way to achieve it.  His charming personality is inherited by his children, and his sons also develop his propensity for saying one thing while totally intending to do something else. 

Although heavily focused on Lucrezia, her story can not be told without also telling that of the rest of her family, especially Cesare.  As it appears he largely dominated his sister’s life, so he also dominates her story, stealing the spotlight.  He is an angry young man who grows into an angry adult, resenting that he is the son selected to follow Rodrigo into the church.  He looks for ways to escape the life chosen for him – from being an embarrassment to his father and to his own office as a Cardinal to the killing of his brother in order to take his place at the head of the Pope’s army.   Cesare scares Lucrezia.  And he fasincates her. I couldn't help but shake my head numerous times at his boldness and arrogance and the things he gets away with!

But while history has not been kind to Lucrezia, Plaidy portrays her differently – more as a victim of her family’s ambitions than an active participant in the evil attributed to them or to her.  She learns to do –and say- what she must in order to survive and to keep the love of Cesare and her father.  Lying comes easily and naturally to her but it is done as a defense mechanism more so than being deliberately deceptive.  You can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl as she is repeatedly used as a pawn, and as a shot at possible happiness is brutally taken away for her.

In usual Plaidy fashion the Borgia’s story is easy to follow and pretty straightforward.  The political complexities of the various Italian states is probably overly simplified here and only delved into as necessary to explain the motivations of those involved.  Written in the late 50’s, there is no sex, but there are veiled references to some of the more lurid rumors about the relationships between Lucrezia and other members of her family.   I"m not sure at what point in time The Borgia's will begin, but this is a good introduction to the family and would be good background reading before the series starts.