At Alfonso d’Este’s insistence, Lucrezia had to relinquish Rodrigo, her son by Alfonso of Aragon. Raised by his maternal family, Rodrigo inherited his late father’s titles but was held captive upon Pope Alexander’s death. After frantic intercession by his mother, he was sent to Naples to reside with his aunt, Sancia, who died in 1506 at the age of twenty-eight. Rodrigo perished of a fever when he was twelve, preceding Lucrezia in death by seven years.
Gioffre Borgia remarried after Sancia’s death, fighting against the second French invasion of Naples in 1504. He sired four children before his demise in 1518. His descendants ruled the city of Squillace until 1735.
Giovanni Borgia, known as the Infans Romanus, the Infant of Rome—a motto that demonstrates his obscure origin—came to adulthood under the care of various relatives, including Cesare and Vannozza dei Cattanei, before her death in 1518. Alexander VI had issued two separate bulls, one proclaiming the boy as his own by an unmarried woman, another as Cesare’s by the same. Coincidentally, the first bull became public during Lucrezia’s third marriage, further obscuring the parentage of this enigmatic child. Giovanni later went to Ferrara as a companion to Lucrezia, where he was styled her “half brother.” After serving in France and the Curia, he died in 1548. By that time, he was of negligible importance, the Borgias having passed into lurid myth.
It was their myth that first captured my interest in this Spanish family, whose meteoric rise and fall in the Vatican has aroused so much speculation. Hundreds of years later, we remain enthralled by the Borgias, their larger-than-life passions and heinous deeds.
Lucrezia, in particular, has come to personify evil through her long-established and erroneously attributed role as a malignant seductress. Research reveals she was nothing like her legend. As most women of her status, she was a pawn in her family’s ambitions, used to secure alliances, with no say in her fate. Nevertheless, she proved a survivor, steering a tenacious, often heartrending path through the chaos of her life, the only one of her siblings to display any depth of feeling beyond her own interests. I found no evidence that she poisoned or harmed anyone.
The loss of Alfonso of Aragon devastated her. She informed the ambassador of Ferrara during negotiations for her third marriage that “Rome had become a prison” for her. Regardless of her love for her father and Cesare, she had learned their true nature. Her only crime, if such, was to trust them for as long as she did. But she can hardly be faulted, considering she wasn’t yet thirteen when she first wed and barely twenty when Alfonso was killed. She experienced more tragedy in her youth than many experience in a lifetime. For her, happiness would always be elusive.
The question of whether she committed incest remains as acrimonious and hotly debated today as it was during her lifetime. The rumor first surfaced as recounted in this novel, during Lucrezia’s annulment from her first marriage. Giovanni Sforza made the accusation in a letter to Il Moro, writing that she was being taken from him because Alexander “wanted her for himself”—thus initiating an avalanche of innuendo that has haunted Lucrezia ever since. This novel presents one possible theory, but I must emphasize that it is fictional, as is my theory about Juan Borgia’s murder. The frustrating truth is that we have no reliable documentation about what went on behind the Borgias’ closed doors. As much as the family has been dramatized from every angle, we can never know the answers to the most controversial questions about them. Perhaps this very mystery can account for our enduring fascination.
That said, I’ve endeavored to stay true to established fact as much as possible, tricky as this can be when contending with disparate accounts. In some instances I compressed time to facilitate my story, as Renaissance Italy can be bewildering with its many twists and reversals. I also avoided tantalizing side plots that did not directly affect Lucrezia, such as the unsolved murders attributed to the Borgias of various relatives and perceived opponents.
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MANY SOURCES ACCOMPANIED me while writing this novel. Although not intended as a full bibliography, I list below those I found most valuable in depicting Lucrezia’s Vatican years:
Bellonci, Maria. The Life and Times of Lucrezia Borgia. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1953.
Bradford, Sarah. Cesare Borgia: His Life and Times. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc., 1976.
Bradford, Sarah. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy. New York: The Penguin Group, 2004.
Burchard, Johann. At the Court of the Borgia. London: Folio Society, 1963.
Chamberlin, E. R. The Fall of the House of Borgia. New York: The Dial Press, 1974.
Erlanger, Rachel. Lucrezia Borgia. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1978.
Fusero, Clemente. The Borgias. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972.
Hibbert, Christopher. The Borgias and Their Enemies. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2008.
Hollingsworth, Mary. The Borgia Chronicles. New York: Metro Books, 2011.
Partner, Peter. Renaissance Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.
In memory of Paris
Desidero vobis omnem diem
In midst of writing this novel, my beloved twelve-year-old corgi, Paris, whom I adopted when she was six weeks old, fell ill with an esophageal disorder that took her life. She was with me for the first half of the book, always at my feet, and remained in spirit with me for the rest. I am grateful for her joyous presence in my life. She was my dog of the soul, whom I miss deeply.
I owe a debt of gratitude to several people who saw me through my grief and helped me find both the solace and time needed to complete this work.
First, I must thank my husband, who never stops believing in me and encourages me to persevere when I falter. He keeps me grounded in an existence that requires hours alone at the keyboard. I am also fortunate in my rescue cats, Boy and Mommy, both of whom give us the rare gift of unconditional love. I am a fortunate author indeed in my agent, Jennifer Weltz, who champions my work both here and abroad. She is always there to provide advice and see me off the ledge. Everyone on her team at the Jean V. Naggar Agency, Inc. (with a special shout-out to Laura Biagi and Tara Hart) ensures that the business of being a writer runs as smoothly as possible.
This is my fourth novel with my editor, Susanna Porter. Her concise editorial approach, keen observations as to how to deepen character or plot, along with her wit, enrich my work in unexpected ways. My assistant editor, Priyanka Krishnan, also contributed greatly to this book, with suggestions that helped me refine it. I am grateful to the publishing team at Ballantine, Random House, who work so hard to make books successful in this challenging marketplace.
Last, but never least, I must thank you, my reader. I very much appreciate your messages on social media, emails, and letters. Writers struggle in solitude to bring our stories to life. Without you, a book is just words. Your imagination gives the story life; for that, I am forever in your debt.
I hope to continue to be one of your storytellers for many years to come.
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ANIMAL RESCUE REMAINS a vital part of my life. Every year, thousands of healthy, adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized in overcrowded shelters across our country. If you cannot adopt, please help support local rescues with donations of time, money, and articles needed to care for the many homeless animals they take in. Thank you!
BY C. W. GORTNER
The Vatican Princess
Mademoiselle Chanel
The Queen’s Vow
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
The Last Queen
The Tudor Vendetta
The Tudor Conspiracy
The Tudor Secret
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C. W. GORTNER’s historical novels have garnered international praise and been translated into more than twenty languages. He divides his time between Northern California and Antigua, Guatemala. To find out more about his work and to schedule a book group chat, please visit www.cwgortner.com.
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