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Lucretia Borgia According to Original Documents and Correspondence of Her Day
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402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1874
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259 people want to read
About the author
Ferdinand Gregorovius
642 books2 followersFerdinand Adolf Gregorovius was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. (Source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 26, 2012
Frank Herbert advises us to locate his main character in his proper time and place, and that is what this author does with Lucretia Borgia. Her time is the Renaissance; the place is Rome, then only a city-state not under a unified Italy. It is Caligula-like brutality being dealt with one hand while the other hand flourishes the paintbrush and pen.
There are a lot of names dropped in this book. One person may have several names (Rodrigo Borgia aka Alexander VI) and may also share his or her name with other people (Rodrigo Borgia uncle to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and grandfather to Rodrigo...etc.)Many different places are mentioned - some no longer in existence - so keep the internets handy!
The author, while a bit wordy/gossipy/prissy/name-droppy, seems to keep neutral about what he writes. He also, however, seems to like Lucretia (unlike most historians.) He puts Lucretia's poisonous reputation down as sour-grape rumors spread by her family's enemies.
Not to say she wasn't a little evil though. After reading this book (going to read Caesar Borgia's bio but not anytime soon) you really understand why the Borgias were called the original mafia family.
Read this book if you want an in depth look at what Rome was like in the early 1500's. Its more of an academic read than anything else.
There are a lot of names dropped in this book. One person may have several names (Rodrigo Borgia aka Alexander VI) and may also share his or her name with other people (Rodrigo Borgia uncle to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and grandfather to Rodrigo...etc.)Many different places are mentioned - some no longer in existence - so keep the internets handy!
The author, while a bit wordy/gossipy/prissy/name-droppy, seems to keep neutral about what he writes. He also, however, seems to like Lucretia (unlike most historians.) He puts Lucretia's poisonous reputation down as sour-grape rumors spread by her family's enemies.
Not to say she wasn't a little evil though. After reading this book (going to read Caesar Borgia's bio but not anytime soon) you really understand why the Borgias were called the original mafia family.
Read this book if you want an in depth look at what Rome was like in the early 1500's. Its more of an academic read than anything else.
March 2, 2022
Лукреция Борджия е незаконна дъщеря на кардинал Родриго Борджа (който по-късно става папа Александър VI) Това са времена, в които папите и кардиналите имат деца и ги използват за политически бракове, чрез които трупат влияние в държавата и извън нея. Лукреция Борджия не е изключение. Тя има трима съпрузи, множество извънбрачни връзки и 9 деца. Трудно е да се прецени дали Лукреция Борджия е интригантка и убийца или само оръжие в ръцете на амбициозния си баща и брат. Но което и да е вярно, авторът в своята книга многократно ни подканя да не съдим Лукреция според съвременните си разбирания и схващания. Тя е една от най-противоречивите фигури на Ренесанса. Времената, в които живее, са времена на интриги, политически убийства и безнравственост. Самият Ренесанс е период на възхвала на телесните удоволствия. Лукреция Борджия няма как да остане изолирана от тези събития. Въпреки това тя е дълбоко религиозна, покровителка на онеправданите и любител на изкуството. Книгата е обективна и безпристрастна, авторът ни подканя да не съдим и сами да намерим истината.
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March 1, 2017Meh. I wanted more documents. For obsessive researchers only.
August 27, 2025
Greatly suffers from the influence of the century it was written on. Book lacks general depth regarding Lucrezia's life, possibly due to the lack of sources which current historians thankfully possess. Does not delve deep into her life in Ferrara, barely mentioning her relationships with Bembo, Strozzi, Gonzaga, and Isabella d'Este.
It's not a bad book but it must be read with enough knowledge regarding the historical context during which it was written.
It's not a bad book but it must be read with enough knowledge regarding the historical context during which it was written.
January 23, 2020
Lucretia Borgia, illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander Borgia is certainly an enigma. Persons without scruples or evidence blackened the reputation of this historical figure. Her father, Alexander VI and her scheming, murderous brother, Caesar, played with her life like a chess game. Her first husband was taken from her so she might be used in a better match. Her second husband was murdered by Caesar. In spite of all this drama, she remained a loyal daughter. Married into a family connected and strong enough to shelter her, she was a dutiful spouse, mother and wife. I find that I liked this lady and do not see any evidence of poison, incest or deceit. Although she could not have missed the corruption within the Vatican, she did not seem to succumb to it.
May 3, 2020
Es ist lange her, seit ein hervorragender deutscher Historiker dieses Buch geschrieben hat. Nichtsdestoweniger empfehle ich allen, die fuer die Rennaissance und deren Vertreter interessiert sind, es zu lesen. Es ist lebendig und hinreissend.
December 28, 2020
This is a classic and one of the key and best respected sources to get into the incredible story of the Borgia family.
July 21, 2016
I just finished reading Lucretia Borgia According to Original Documents and Correspondence of Her Day, by Ferdinand Gregorovius.
I was reading this book, more or less, for a very, very long time.
I started reading it on Kindle back during one of the summers I was working at Pearson, picking it up after finishing Rafael Sabatini's The Life of Cesare Borgia because Ellen and I were in a big The Borgias phase at the time. At some point I opened it on the Kindle app on my phone and it became The Book I Was Reading On My Phone, you know, the one I read when a) I don't have another book or e-reader on me and b) I'm not doing other stuff on my phone like checking Twitter or playing Sudoku. In other words... basically never. Hence the multi-year delay in finishing it.
This biography was first published in 1904 and presumably written several years before that, since 1904 appears to be after the author's death. It's very 19th century in style in that it has not learned to ape the trappings of objectivity, and the author regularly opines at great length about who is virtuous and who is dastardly, and rages against other historians whom he believes have come to the wrong conclusions about the various 15th/16th century Italian personages. On the upside, the book gives a pretty comprehensive look at what he could find out about Lucrezia's life and the lives of the rest of her family, and is very well sourced, quoting extensively from primary sources and illustrating exactly where there are gaps or questions of veracity in the historical record. So while it is definitely dated, it's not a bad piece of scholarly work for the time. It is, however, a little dry and hard to follow sometimes, largely due to the author's ever so proper habit of referring to people by their titles rather than their given names much of the time, and many nobles of the era went through a lot of different titles over the course of their lives.
The author is enormously pro-Lucrezia and unfortunately I think that's sort of boring? Like, evil scheming incest murderess Lucrezia is much more INTERESTING than gracious pious family lady Lucrezia who has been the innocent victim of slander because of her power-hungry relatives. There's fortunately some solid information on the machinations of said power-hungry relatives to keep things interesting, though.
Overall this was an interesting enough curiosity but if you want to actually learn about the Borgias there are many much more recent and probably more easily readable books available. I should check some of them out one of these days. And if you just want to be entertained, the ridiculous Showtime show is very fun (and has a very attractive cast).
Originally posted at http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co...
I was reading this book, more or less, for a very, very long time.
I started reading it on Kindle back during one of the summers I was working at Pearson, picking it up after finishing Rafael Sabatini's The Life of Cesare Borgia because Ellen and I were in a big The Borgias phase at the time. At some point I opened it on the Kindle app on my phone and it became The Book I Was Reading On My Phone, you know, the one I read when a) I don't have another book or e-reader on me and b) I'm not doing other stuff on my phone like checking Twitter or playing Sudoku. In other words... basically never. Hence the multi-year delay in finishing it.
This biography was first published in 1904 and presumably written several years before that, since 1904 appears to be after the author's death. It's very 19th century in style in that it has not learned to ape the trappings of objectivity, and the author regularly opines at great length about who is virtuous and who is dastardly, and rages against other historians whom he believes have come to the wrong conclusions about the various 15th/16th century Italian personages. On the upside, the book gives a pretty comprehensive look at what he could find out about Lucrezia's life and the lives of the rest of her family, and is very well sourced, quoting extensively from primary sources and illustrating exactly where there are gaps or questions of veracity in the historical record. So while it is definitely dated, it's not a bad piece of scholarly work for the time. It is, however, a little dry and hard to follow sometimes, largely due to the author's ever so proper habit of referring to people by their titles rather than their given names much of the time, and many nobles of the era went through a lot of different titles over the course of their lives.
The author is enormously pro-Lucrezia and unfortunately I think that's sort of boring? Like, evil scheming incest murderess Lucrezia is much more INTERESTING than gracious pious family lady Lucrezia who has been the innocent victim of slander because of her power-hungry relatives. There's fortunately some solid information on the machinations of said power-hungry relatives to keep things interesting, though.
Overall this was an interesting enough curiosity but if you want to actually learn about the Borgias there are many much more recent and probably more easily readable books available. I should check some of them out one of these days. And if you just want to be entertained, the ridiculous Showtime show is very fun (and has a very attractive cast).
Originally posted at http://bloodygranuaile.livejournal.co...
April 26, 2015
For those interested in a comprehensive look at the Borgia family, this is an excellent read. It is filled with a substantial amount of detail that Gregorovius backs up through a tremendous amount of contemporary sources. And while I'm not entirely sold on his analysis, he does present a fairly compelling argument that Lucretia Borgia was not the monster that is most often depicted.
My one issue with this book is that for a title that was meant to be about Lucretia Borgia, I felt many other members of the Borgia family were covered in nearly as much detail. Granted, there are episodes mentioned in the lives of her father and brother that probably receive greater attention in their own biographies that were not drawn out here, but there was still an overwhelming amount of time that was dedicated to her various family members. Understanding that it would be inaccurate to look at Lucretia in a vacuum independent from the machinations of her family, as someone who was interested in reading primarily just about Lucretia Borgia, I found some of the reading tedious and unnecessary overkill. I would have much preferred a condensed version with a greater focus solely on Lucretia.
While my personal preference would have been shorter book more sharply focused on Lucretia, however, its very detail is what does make it a great and informative read for those who have a general interest in the Borgias as a whole. For those not familiar with the Borgias though, they may want to do some preliminary reading, as with all of the various names, dates, and locales, it can be difficult to keep the facts straight if one does not already possess a basic understanding of this infamous family and period in history.
My one issue with this book is that for a title that was meant to be about Lucretia Borgia, I felt many other members of the Borgia family were covered in nearly as much detail. Granted, there are episodes mentioned in the lives of her father and brother that probably receive greater attention in their own biographies that were not drawn out here, but there was still an overwhelming amount of time that was dedicated to her various family members. Understanding that it would be inaccurate to look at Lucretia in a vacuum independent from the machinations of her family, as someone who was interested in reading primarily just about Lucretia Borgia, I found some of the reading tedious and unnecessary overkill. I would have much preferred a condensed version with a greater focus solely on Lucretia.
While my personal preference would have been shorter book more sharply focused on Lucretia, however, its very detail is what does make it a great and informative read for those who have a general interest in the Borgias as a whole. For those not familiar with the Borgias though, they may want to do some preliminary reading, as with all of the various names, dates, and locales, it can be difficult to keep the facts straight if one does not already possess a basic understanding of this infamous family and period in history.
February 13, 2013
The author, a nineteen century historian, set out to research, examine and present the facts about the life of Lucretia Borgia. The book is very readable with a modern feel about the language, and Lucretia's life is set against the many political alliances, pomp, ceremony, manners and characters of Renaissance Italy, not forgetting the numberless battles for land, property and riches.
Events leading up to the scandals and notoriety that have attached themselves to Lucretia - the deaths of her husbands in particular - are examined without prejudice - there's none of the sensationalism found in some modern works, and although the author comes to conclusions, these are backed up by textual evidence.
There's quite a 'history book' feel to much of this book, which some may find boring, and many names to keep track of (or not, depending on your inclination), but it more than deserves the four stars I've given it for meticulous research and complete objectivity. This is the real Lucretia.
Events leading up to the scandals and notoriety that have attached themselves to Lucretia - the deaths of her husbands in particular - are examined without prejudice - there's none of the sensationalism found in some modern works, and although the author comes to conclusions, these are backed up by textual evidence.
There's quite a 'history book' feel to much of this book, which some may find boring, and many names to keep track of (or not, depending on your inclination), but it more than deserves the four stars I've given it for meticulous research and complete objectivity. This is the real Lucretia.
October 31, 2012
I found this book interesting but a very dry read. It was written in 1903 and while it purports to be about Lucretia, it is more a political history of the time. I have always felt that she has a bad reputation not because of things she did but because of what her father (Pope Alexander VI) did and this book shares that opinion. In Italy of the late 14 and early 1500s women had little say over their own lives and Lucretia did as her father commanded. He arranged marriages as he thought they best benefited his power which made her look like a tramp. SHe found happiness in her last marriage to the Duke of Ferrara and had several children by him.
March 20, 2015
It was the showtime series on the Borgia's that got me interested in this book. I found the information to be enlightening. When I was a youth, I found history boring. It was decades later before I found books that were not dry, that gave a clear view of life during the period of time being reviewed. Gregorovius does a good job of making this a very readable piece of history. It's full of unbiased information from validated sources. Truth is more interesting and sometimes stranger than fiction. It gave me an entirely different view of Lucretia Borgia from the view I had developed watching the popular series on TV. Worth the read.
August 30, 2012
This book was written in the early 1900's and the style is rather hard to follow, with many tangents and wanderings that made it hard to read. I had hoped to see more information but was sadly disappointed.
March 5, 2011
A well researched and well written biography of a dreadful human being from a seriously disturbed family.
June 18, 2020
It's quiet like research in some parts, but well writien and not boring.
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February 27, 2013EBOOK KINDLE GRATUITO - DA CONSULTAZIONE...
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June 23, 2013This book is quite excellent source for writing a thesis
December 15, 2014
Really disappointed in this book. Mediocre at best. Had I known it was going to be like this I never would have read it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews