The Borgias And Their Enemies: 1431-1519 (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover - I didn't do that, and I'm happy for it! (but more on that a bit later)This is a good book on pope Alexander VI and his children (mostly Cesare and Lucrezia) - a Renaissance pope who acted much a secular leader would have done at the time. The Borgia name has gone done in history as something quite extraordinary evil and violent, and while they can't really be called nice people (at all - though most of them had their brighter moments too), they were not THAT different from other contemporary families in that place and time. Money, sex, and murder were quite common ingredients in Renaissance Italy. The book draws much on contemporary accounts and sources - but tries to avoid believing in every rumour going around (which is most likely a wise decision - you wouldn't do that now with famous people and gossip, why do that about historical figures?). But the cover... I bought the Swedish edition (it was what I happened to come across - though I generally prefer reading English books in English) and I would like to point out there is nothing wrong whatsoever with the Swedish translation. The Swedish cover on the other hand... Firstly, they have gone with this picture - that looks like the cover of a trashy historical novel! Secondly they have rewritten the title (!) to "Borgia - Berättelsen om en ondskefull familj" which would translate as "Borgia - The story of an evil family"! That's wrong on so many levels! And thirdly the text on the back of the book is obviously written by someone who has seen the TV-series (and is referencing to it in the actual text), but missed a few details about what is actually written in the book - like claiming that the poor Lucretzia Borgia got help from her brother Cesare to murder her husband (and I know there are theories that says so, and Cesare was most likely involved in the murder, but the book puts no blame at all on Lucretiza but instead stresses the point of how loving she was of a man who both her father and brother wanted her to get rid off)! And then in the next paragraph it says how the author removes many of the myths surrounding the family. That he does. The package here doesn't help his cause. (Excuse all the exclamation marks) Paradoxně největší klad knihy je zároveň i jejím největším záporem. Hibbert zvolil styl čtivosti za každou cenu; a tak největší neduh podobných knih odpadá. Událost stíhá událost, jedna zajímavost střídá druhou a vše se překotně žene kupředu. Nuda či zahlcenost letopočty, podružnými informacemi apod. nehrozí; zároveň však tento styl znamená i zkratkovitost a přeskakování mnoha (ne)méně zajímavých událostí. A tak spousta je toho jen letmo zmíněna, ale u zmínky to také končí. Čili nevyhnutelně budete (zaujme-li vás to) nuceni skončit u jiných publikací či na Googlu. Ne, že bych vyžadoval tisícistránkovou cihlu utápějící se v popisu, kde co snídal, ale takových sto stránek navíc by tu bylo ku prospěchu.
What do You think about The Borgias And Their Enemies: 1431-1519 (2008)?
A straight-forward and easy to read narrative of the rise and fall of the Borgias.
—njq
Although of some merit, I felt like I was reading Old Testament.
—HarryPotterLover
Kind of boring, really. I was hoping for a juicier read.
—margaret
