The Vatican Princess

December 21, 2015
The latest from historical novelist Gortner (after Mademoiselle Chanel) is a lurid, old-school story that revolves around Lucrezia Borgia, the doted-upon illegitimate daughter of the notoriously corrupt Rodrigo Borgia, who was Pope Alexander VI. As she grows into her teen years, Lucrezia becomes a pawn in her family’s political schemes. After being married off to a near-penniless man who seems more drawn to her vicious eldest brother, Juan, Lucrezia finds herself lusting after both her brother Cesare—a reluctant cardinal with ambitions beyond the church—and her sister-in-law’s brother, Alfonso, with whom she shares an interest in books. Family dastardliness and intrigue soon turn Lucrezia’s life upside down, as she becomes pregnant and tries to have her loveless marriage dissolved after several violent incidents. Gortner’s book features several anachronisms for the late 1400s, such as the protagonist’s sympathy for exiled Jews, but the narrative is also unapologetically pulpy and titillating. Ultimately, Lucrezia is pitted against the men of her powerful family, who expect her loyalty in the face of their ruthlessness. Cesare tries to win his father’s love as he sets about conquering land and crushing Borgia’s enemies, and everyone becomes a bit paranoid. Gortner’s story makes for an engaging tale.

December 15, 2015
As the 16th century dawns, Columbus has brought word of new lands to Queen Isabella, Savonarola leads a reign of terror in Florence, and Rodrigo Borgia is bargaining his daughter, Lucrezia, to claim the Throne of Peter in Rome. In an era when priestly vows of chastity were honored in the breach, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia had four children by a mistress. Borgia, who would become Pope Alexander VI, gains his papacy with the support of the troublesome Milanese, particularly Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, whom he names vice-chancellor. Borgia's 13-year-old daughter, Lucrezia, his farfallina--"little butterfly"--will marry Giovanni Sforza, the cardinal's cousin, in more political payoff. Rodrigo's patronage, political power, and wealth made Lucrezia a valuable consort because family alliances between the Sforzas, Gonzagas, d'Estes, and Medicis controlled Italy's city-states. Gortner's novel is one of character: Borgia pater, of course, but also Lucrezia, intelligent and poised, and her "keen and capable" brother Cesare, named Cardinal of Valencia fresh from seminary. Teenage Lucrezia is mature beyond her years, but she's only a pawn in her father's game of thrones. Soon, however, "political convenience" will lead to the annulment of Lucrezia's unconsummated marriage to Sforza. Later, Lucrezia makes a love match with Alfonso of Aragon, Prince of Naples, but Cesare disapproves of his father's indulgence, to Lucrezia's regret. Lucrezia remains a sympathetic character, conversant in literature and philosophy, with every Borgia evil laid at the feet of her father, ambitious and calculating, or Cesare, a brilliant and amoral psychopath with a lifelong near-incestuous love for his sister. In a literary exploration riven with Shakespearean quantities of murder, lies, deceptions, and treachery, Gortner's narrative gains veracity with her atmospheric exploration of fashion, architecture, and art on the stage of "loud, filthy, and dangerous" Rome. Gortner (Mademoiselle Chanel, 2015, etc.) has imagined Lucrezia Borgia's life from a feminist perspective.

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