12 h 51 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 51 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the name you know for poison and murder hides a life shaped by other people's power?
Lucretia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander the Sixth, stands at the center of family politics. Her father and brother use her as a piece in their plans. Ferdinand Gregorovius follows her through marriages that serve powerful families, asking how much of the notorious reputation belongs to the woman herself.
Letters, contracts and court reports lead Gregorovius into the archives of Ferrara, Modena and other Italian cities. He sets stories of poison, incest and murder against documents from Lucretia's own lifetime. From her marriage to Giovanni Sforza to the cultured court of Ferrara, this biography asks what evidence reveals—and what rumor conceals.
What you’ll discover
- A daughter in politics See how family ambition shapes Lucretia's marriages and narrows the choices before her.
- Affection amid family plans Meet Alfonso of Aragon in a marriage Gregorovius presents as a bond of real affection.
- The world of Ferrara Enter a small court known for music, theater and learning, far from the Vatican.
- Documents against dark stories Follow letters and court reports as Gregorovius tests the accusations attached to Lucretia's name.
- The making of notoriety Consider how enemies shape early accounts and later histories, plays and novels carry them forward.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who enjoy Renaissance Italy, papal courts and family dynasties. It rewards anyone who likes to hear real letters bring a famous name back to life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Gregorovius replaces a legend with archive documents
- A Spanish family takes root and raises a daughter
- Her father becomes pope and sells her hand
- A second husband, new lands, and a murder
- The charges against her are weighed one by one
- Ferrara bargains hard, then her father dies
- A duchess of Ferrara, and a judgment at last
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Lucrezia Borgia
by Ferdinando Gregorovius · 1874
A pope's daughter is married off three times by her father and brother, then finds a quiet court in Ferrara.
Challenging10–20 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
Is Lucretia Borgia a poisoner with a dagger in one hand and a cup in the other, or a young woman used by her father and brother? Most people picture the first.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Gregorovius replaces a legend with archive documents
Lucretia Borgia is remembered as a monster. Gregorovius asks whether she earned that name or simply carries the curse of the world. His answer begins with where the legend came from. It grows from rumor, and every telling adds a little more.
The poet Victor Hugo made her a moral monster for the stage, and the opera house still shows her that way. Earlier writers such as Guicciardini had passed the stories along. Others tried to rescue her. A Dominican priest named Ollivier then wrote a defence so extreme that even the Church's own journals rejected it.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 12 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1874
- Language
- Italiano
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Gregorovius, Ferdinand. Lucretia Borgia. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucretia-borgia.
Gregorovius, F. (2026). Lucretia Borgia. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucretia-borgia (Original work published 1874)
Gregorovius, Ferdinand. Lucretia Borgia. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucretia-borgia.
@book{gregorovius2026lucretia,
author = {Gregorovius, Ferdinand},
title = {Lucretia Borgia},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lucretia-borgia},
note = {First published 1874}
}
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What is Lucretia Borgia by Gregorovius about?
It follows the life of Lucretia Borgia from her birth in Rome to her death as Duchess of Ferrara. The author uses letters, contracts and ambassadors' dispatches to test the dark legend and show the woman behind it.
Was Lucretia Borgia really a poisoner?
Gregorovius finds no proof of poisoning in the records. The harshest charges come from enemies, poets in Naples and a divorced husband. Those who watched her in Rome and Ferrara describe a gracious, cheerful and devout woman.
Who were Lucretia Borgia's husbands?
She was married three times. First came Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro, then Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Biselli, and finally Alfonso d'Este, who became Duke of Ferrara. Each marriage was arranged by her father or brother for political gain.
The author
Ferdinand Gregorovius
1821–1891 · German historian
Ferdinand Gregorovius was a German historian born in Neidenburg, East Prussia, in 1821. He lived in Rome from 1852 to 1874 and later in Munich, where he died in 1891. He wrote a history of Rome in the Middle Ages and published a biography of Lucrezia Borgia in 1874.
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