Lucresiare

Where are they ?


edit : Sorry for double post !

BL.Arinna_1982

And I'm starting something as a novel as well.

Lucresiare

You are writing a novel Arinna ?

Seriu

I know I know....I meant it when I said slow going I have been very distracted of late.

were-dinosaur

Just finished Blood and Beauty, by Sarah Dunant. It starts with Alexander's election as Pope and goes up to Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso d'Este. In the afterward the author says she plans to write a sequel to finish the story.

It's written in the present tense, for some reason, which took a little getting used to, but it was an enjoyable read overall. My main issue with it as a novel was that I felt very little emotional investment in the characters. The characterization was pretty good, but detached. It felt more like a chronicle than a novel in some ways.

Juan's murder:

Cesare/Lucrezia:

Infans Romanus:

il valentino

I have to agree. Her characters are flat and lifeless!

Borgia1

Agreed. It was an okay read compared to some of the other trash about the family I've read and at least Cesare wasn't nuts or anything but yeah not that great.

were-dinosaur

Stumbled completely by accident on another newish Borgia novel at the library yesterday: The Serpent and the Pearl, by Kate Quinn. It focuses on Giulia Farnese and two fictional members of the Borgia household: a cook named Carmelina and a dwarf named Leonello who's much as Tyrion Lannister might have turned out if he'd been born a commoner instead of the son of the wealthiest lord in the kingdom. Apparently Quinn has plans to make it a trilogy(?) eventually.

I'm only about a third of the way in so far (Rodrigo has only just been elected Pope), so I'm not going to pass judgement yet, but I will say that in addition to Leonello's excellent Tyrion impersonation, Quinn also has GRRM's gift for mouthwatering descriptions of food, and I'm quite enjoying that!

were-dinosaur

Almost forgot to mention that I finished The Serpent and the Pearl the other day. The food descriptions continue to be mouthwatering, and I like the portrayal of Giulia Farnese. Cesare and Lucrezia are pretty minor characters and Lucrezia's characterization is okay (very young, but the first book doesn't even make it to her divorce, so that's understandable since she's still only 14 or so by the end), but Cesare's was fairly WTF.

BL.Arinna_1982

Seriously?

Borgia1

I am not surprised, I've read some awful Cesare slandering fictional stuff before. I guess some people don't know the difference between a serial killer who murders for enjoyment and someone who murders for political reasons. Honestly everyone murdered in the Renaissance but no one gets moralistic about it unless it's the Borgias. Della, Medici, and Caterina can murder political enemies and no one cares but the Borgias do it and we need to slander them hardcore in fiction Very annoying.

sourburst

I am currently writing some smut

Lucresiare

A murder is a murder, no matter the reason. The Borgias weren't worse than the others though.

sourburst

I don't mind them murdering especially when Cesare does it for his family. I don't see why C/L should be slandered for that though. Yes, some don't like the incest, but there's no point making up reasons.

Lucresiare

In real life, I don't support murder for any reason. But I don't see why people would slander C/L