The Borgia Bride - Hardcover

Kalogridis, Jeanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007148828 ISBN 13: 9780007148820

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2005

Synopsis

A sumptuous historical novel of passion, betrayal, scheming and incest, set in the Vatican during the 15th century.

Incest. Poison. Betrayal. Three wedding presents for the Borgia bride...

Italy 1492 Pope Alexander VI is elected. And so begins the Borgia reign of terror.

Alexander murders, bribes and betrays to establish his dynasty. No one is immune. Rome is a hotbed of accusation and conspiracy. Every day, the River Tiber is full of new bodies.

Sancha de Aragon, daughter of King Alfonso II of Naples, arrives in Rome newly wed to Alexander’s youngest son, Jofre. Their marriage protects Naples against the ambitions of the French King Louis and gains Spanish support for the Borgias. But Rome is very different to her beloved Naples.

The debauchery of the Borgia inner-circle is notorious: every lust is indulged and every indiscretion overlooked. Sancha is no innocent: she possesses an indomitable spirit which allows her to survive in the snake-pit, but her ancestors once rivalled the Borgias in cruelty and Sancha’s greatest fear is that blood will out.

Lucrezia Borgia’s vicious jealously stings Sancha at first, but gradually the two young women develop a cautious friendship. Lucrezia, adored by her father but used ruthlessly as a political tool, seems deceptively innocent and sympathetic, and their bond strengthens when Lucrezia is married to Sancha’s treasured brother, Alfonso. But when Sancha falls in love with Cesare Borgia, her husband’s enigmatic older brother, she has no idea of how bizarre and internecine are the family's true ties. Alexander is rather more than an indulgent father; Lucrezia not the innocent she appears; and Cesare’s ambition burns wildly. The only safe relationship with the Borgias is none at all: as Sancha, her brother and Naples are soon to discover...

About this title

Review:

'The sumptuous story of a young woman ... The events of her life are gripping, from sexual passion to mortal danger.' -- Philippa Gregory

Book Description:

Incest. Poison. Betrayal. Three wedding presents for the Borgia bride...

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0007148828
• ISBN 13: 9780007148820
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 544