Download or read book The Vatican Princess written by C. W. Gortner and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, bestselling author C. W. Gortner effortlessly weaves history and drama in this captivating novel about one of the world’s most notorious families. Glamorous and predatory, the Borgias fascinated and terrorized fifteenth-century Renaissance Italy, and Lucrezia Borgia, beloved daughter of the pope, was at the center of the dynasty’s ambitions. Slandered as a heartless seductress who lured men to their doom, was she in fact the villainess of legend, or was she trapped in a familial web, forced to choose between loyalty and survival? With the ascension of the Spaniard Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI, a new era has dawned in Rome. Benefitting from their father’s elevation are the new pope’s illegitimate children—his rival sons, Cesare and Juan, and beautiful young daughter Lucrezia—each of whom assumes an exalted position in the papal court. Privileged and adored, Lucrezia yearns to escape her childhood and play a part in her family’s fortunes. But Rome is seductive and dangerous: Alliances shift at a moment’s notice as Italy’s ruling dynasties strive to keep rivals at bay. As Lucrezia’s father faces challenges from all sides, the threat of a French invasion forces him to marry her off to a powerful adversary. But when she discovers the brutal truth behind her alliance, Lucrezia is plunged into a perilous gambit that will require all her wits, cunning, and guile. Escaping her marriage offers the chance of happiness with a passionate prince of Naples, yet as scandalous accusations of murder and incest build against her, menacing those she loves, Lucrezia must risk everything to overcome the lethal fate imposed upon her by her Borgia blood. Beautifully wrought, rich with fascinating historical detail, The Vatican Princess is the first novel to describe Lucrezia’s coming-of-age in her own voice. What results is a dramatic, vivid tale set in an era of savagery and unparalleled splendor, where enemies and allies can be one and the same, and where loyalty to family can ultimately be a curse. Praise for The Vatican Princess “In a literary exploration riven with Shakespearean quantities of murder, lies, deceptions, and treachery, Gortner’s narrative gains veracity with his atmospheric exploration of fashion, architecture, and art on the stage of ‘loud, filthy, and dangerous’ Rome. Gortner has imagined Lucrezia Borgia’s life from a feminist perspective.”—Kirkus Reviews “[Gortner] has invested his novel with impressive historical detail that is woven neatly into the threads of the story, and his afterword and references offer excellent insight.”—Historical Novels Review “Assiduously researched and expertly crafted, this novel takes readers inside the treacherous world of the Borgias—one of history’s most dysfunctional ruling families—and brings to life the sympathetic and freshly imagined character of their leading lady, Lucrezia. This unholy plunge into Rome’s darkest dynasty is wholly engrossing.”—Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of Sisi: Empress on Her Own “The world of Renaissance Italy is vividly brought to life—I’m captivated by this knowledgeable author’s take on the controversial Borgias.”—Alison Weir, New York Times bestselling author of Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen “Impressive research, a lush background, and deft characterization of these turbulent times make for a fascinating read.”—Margaret George, New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth I

Download or read book The Vatican Princess written by C. W. Gortner and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trade paperback edition includes a reader's guide.

Download or read book Borgia s Daughter written by C. W. Gortner and published by Hodder Paperbacks. This book was released on 2017-01-12 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Infamy is no accident. It is a poison in our blood. It is the price of being a Borgia. Glamorous and predatory, the Borgias became Italy's most ruthless and powerful family, electrifying and terrorizing their 15th-century Renaissance world. To this day, Lucrezia Borgia, the Pope's beautiful daughter, is known as one of history's most notorious villainesses, accused of incest and luring men to doom with her arsenal of poison. Was she the heartless seductress of legend? Or was she an unsuspecting pawn in a familial web, forced to choose between loyalty and her own survival? From her pampered childhood in the palaces of Rome to her ill-fated, scandalous marriages and complex relationship with her adored father and her brothers, this is the dramatic, untold story of a papal princess whose courage led her to overcome the fate imposed on her by her Borgia blood.

Download or read book The Romanov Empress written by C. W. Gortner and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For readers of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir comes a dramatic novel of the beloved Empress Maria, the Danish princess who became the mother of the last Russian tsar. “This epic tale is captivating and beautifully told.”—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours Barely nineteen, Minnie knows that her station in life as a Danish princess is to leave her family and enter into a royal marriage—as her older sister Alix has done, moving to England to wed Queen Victoria’s eldest son. The winds of fortune bring Minnie to Russia, where she marries the Romanov heir, Alexander, and once he ascends the throne, becomes empress. When resistance to his reign strikes at the heart of her family and the tsar sets out to crush all who oppose him, Minnie—now called Maria—must tread a perilous path of compromise in a country she has come to love. Her husband’s death leaves their son Nicholas as the inexperienced ruler of a deeply divided and crumbling empire. Determined to guide him to reforms that will bring Russia into the modern age, Maria faces implacable opposition from Nicholas’s strong-willed wife, Alexandra, whose fervor has led her into a disturbing relationship with a mystic named Rasputin. As the unstoppable wave of revolution rises anew to engulf Russia, Maria will face her most dangerous challenge and her greatest heartache. From the opulent palaces of St. Petersburg and the intrigue-laced salons of the aristocracy to the World War I battlefields and the bloodied countryside occupied by the Bolsheviks, C. W. Gortner sweeps us into the anarchic fall of an empire and the complex, bold heart of the woman who tried to save it. Praise for The Romanov Empress “Timely . . . [Gortner’s] ability to weave what reads as a simple tale from such complex historical and familial storylines is impressive. . . . Maria’s life as a royal reads like a historical soap opera.”—USA Today “Gortner, an experienced hand at recreating the unique aura of a particular time and place, will deftly sweep historical-fictions fans into this glamorous, turbulent, and ultimately tragic chapter in history.”—Booklist (starred review) “Mesmerizing . . . This insightful first-person account of the downfall of the Romanov rule . . . is the powerful story of a mother trying to save her family and an aristocrat fighting to maintain rule in a country of rebellion.”—Publishers Weekly “A twist on the tragic story you’ve heard many times before.”—Bustle

Download or read book Mistress of the Vatican written by Eleanor Herman and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eleanor Herman, the talented author of the New York Times bestselling Sex with Kings and Sex with the Queen goes behind the sacred doors of the Catholic Church in Mistress of the Vatican, a scintillating biography of a powerful yet little-known woman whose remarkable story is ripe with secrets, sex, passion, and ambition. For almost four centuries this astonishing story of a woman’s absolute power over the Vatican has been successfully buried—until now.

Download or read book Lucrezia Borgia written by Ferdinand Gregorovius and published by Vita Histria. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lucrezia Borgia is among the most fascinating and controversial personalities of the Renaissance. The daughter of Pope Alexander VI, she was intensely involved in the political life of Italy during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. While her marriage alliances helped advance the political objectives of the papacy, she also held the office of Governor of Spoleto, a role normally reserved for Cardinals, making her one of the most powerful and dynamic female figures of the Renaissance. Among the first books to employ historical method to move beyond myth and romance that had obscured the fascinating story of Lucrezia Borgia was this biography written by the noted German historian Ferdinand Gregorovius. Ferdinand Gregorovius (1821-1891) was one of the preeminent scholars of the Italian Renaissance. His biography of Lucrezia Borgia reveals the atmosphere of the Renaissance, painting a portrait of Lucrezia and her relationships with her father Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, her brother Cesare, her mother Vanozza, her father’s mistress, Giulia Farnese, her husband Duke Alfonso D’Este of Ferrara, and many others, including important artists and writers of the time. All are vividly portrayed against the colorful background of Renaissance Italy. Gregorovius separates myth from documented fact and his book remains a key reference work on the life and times of the Borgia princess. This new edition of Gregorovius’s classic work Lucrezia Borgia is enhanced with an introduction by Samantha Morris, a noted expert on the history of the Borgias. Samantha studied archaeology at the University of Winchester where her interest in the history of the Italian Renaissance began. She is the author of Cesare Borgia: In a Nutshell and Girolamo Savonarola: The Renaissance Preacher. She also runs the website theborgiabull.com.

Download or read book The Life and Times of Lucrezia Borgia written by Maria Bellonci and published by Phoenix. This book was released on 1988 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the violent personalities of the High Renaissance, Lucrezia Borgia is chiefly remembered as a raven-haired poisoner.

Download or read book The Nazis the Vatican and the Jews of Rome written by Patrick J. Gallo and published by Purdue University Press. This book was released on 2023-02-15 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On October 16, 1943, the Jews of Rome were targeted for arrest and deportation. The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome examines why—and more importantly how—it could have been avoided, featuring new evidence and insight into the Vatican’s involvement. At the time, Rome was within reach of the Allies, but the overwhelming force of the Wehrmacht, Gestapo, and SS in Rome precluded direct confrontation. Moral condemnations would not have worked, nor would direct confrontation by the Italians, Jewish leadership, or even the Vatican. Gallo underscores the necessity of determining what courses of actions most likely would have spared Italian Jews from the gas chambers. Examining the historical context and avoiding normative or counterfactual assertions, this book draws upon archival sources ranging from diaries to intelligence intercepts in English, Italian, and German. With antisemitism on the rise today and the last remaining witnesses passing away, it is essential to understand what happened in 1943. The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome grapples with this particular, awful episode within the larger, horrifying story of the Holocaust. Despite the inadequacy of memory, we must continue to attempt to make sense of the inexplicable.

Download or read book The Secret War Against the Jews written by John Loftus and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1997-04-15 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Their motive: oil and multinational profits, which must be attained at any price through international covert policies.

Download or read book Coming of Age in Byzantium written by Despoina Ariantzi and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2017-12-18 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The various phases of life and their manifestations in theory and social reality constitute a well-established area of research in the fields of western medieval studies and ancient history. In this respect the Byzantine East has been widely neglected. This volume will focus on the Byzantine experience of adolescence, which may be defined as the biological transition from childhood to adulthood as well as the social and psychological experience of leaving the care of parents, guardians and family groups and the gradual integration into adult society. The contributions gathered therein treat seven subtopics that correspond to crucial questions in the current research on adolescence: the legal status of adolescents; the mechanisms of transition from childhood to adolescence; the socialisation and gradual integration into adult society; adolescents in Byzantine art; psychological aspects of adolescence from medieval to modern times; illnesses of adolescents; adolescents in the western medieval world.The focus is on the Middle and Late Byzantine Period, where historical, hagiographical,legal and medical sources offer rich material for an investigation of these aspects. The book contributes to a better understanding of all these questions and to show future trajectories for research.

Download or read book Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia written by Samantha Morris and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This myth-busting biography reveals the fascinating true lives of Renaissance Italy’s most infamous brother and sister. Salacious rumors have shrouded the Borgia family for centuries. In particular, tales of murder and incest have stuck to the names of Cesare and Lucrezia. But in this enlightening biography, Samantha Morris separates fact from fiction, presenting these two fascinating individuals from their early lives, through their years at the Vatican and their untimely deaths. Morris begins her narrative in the bustling metropolis of Rome, where the siblings were caught up in the dynastic plans of their father, Pope Alexander VI. Though they were not the villains depicted in popular media, their intertwined lives were full of ambition, intrigue, and danger. Drawing on both primary and secondary sources, Morris follows Cesare through his cardinalship and military career, and Lucrezia through her multiple arranged marriages and her rule over Spoleto.

Download or read book Rome Its Princes Priests and People written by David Silvagni and published by . This book was released on 1885 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Current Opinion written by and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Current Literature written by and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Public Opinion written by and published by . This book was released on 1878 with total page 844 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Current Literature written by Edward Jewitt Wheeler and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Italian Letters of a Diplomat s Wife written by Mary King Waddington and published by . This book was released on 1905 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: