The Borgias and Their Enemies 1431-1519

<strong>This colorful history of a powerful family brings the world they lived in--the glittering Rome of the Italian Renaissance--to life and is simply unputdownable (<em>New York Times Book Review</em>)<em>.</em></strong><br/><br/>The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption nepotism and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful voracious Rodrigo Borgia better known to history as Pope Alexander VI was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame--Lucrezia Borgia his daughter whose husband was famously murdered by her brother and that brother Cesare who served as the model for Niccolò Machiavelli's <em>The Prince</em>. <br/><br/>Notorious for seizing power wealth land and titles through bribery marriage and murder the dynasty's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to its occupation of the highest position in Renaissance society forms a gripping tale. <br/><br/>Erudite witty and always insightful Hibbert removes the layers of myth around the Borgia family and creates a portrait alive with his superb sense of character and place.