12 h 51 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 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.
Is it for you?
This summary suits readers of Renaissance history, lovers of biography, and anyone curious how a bad reputation is built. It may suit you less if you want a lurid tale of poisons, since the author works to take that away.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Born into a family on the rise
- A first marriage made and unmade
- The second husband and a crime
- A bride for the House of Este
- A duchess at Ferrara
- How a legend was built
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Lucretia Borgia
by Ferdinand Gregorovius· 1874
A noblewoman’s life is examined through letters and court records.
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Language: English
“a historian of undoubted authority, a Protestant, and by no means an admirer of the Papacy. On the civil history of the popes during the middle ages there is, perhaps, no greater authority, for whilst completely at home among modern writers who have dealt with his subject, he has, wherever he could, had recourse to the original sources.”
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Born into a family on the rise
Lucretia was born in 1480 near Rome. Her father was the Spanish cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, and her mother was a Roman woman named Vannozza Cattanei. The family name comes from the Spanish Borja, and the Borgias were outsiders in Italy, which shaped how Romans saw them.
Rodrigo was already powerful in the Church. In 1492 he was elected pope and took the name Alexander the Sixth. Gregorovius shows that this election changed everything for his children. Lucretia, her brothers Cesare and Giovanni, and her younger brother Gioffre were suddenly the family of the pope.
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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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What is Lucretia Borgia by Gregorovius about?
It is a biography of Lucretia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander the Sixth. It follows her three marriages and her life at Ferrara, and it tests the old stories of poison and incest against letters and records of her own time.
Was Lucretia Borgia really a poisoner?
Gregorovius finds no solid proof that she was. The stories come mostly from enemies and gossip. Her father and brother Cesare were ruthless, but the author argues that Lucretia was largely a pawn in their plans.
When was Lucretia Borgia by Gregorovius written?
Gregorovius published it in 1874, based on archives in Italian cities such as Ferrara. It is a work of nineteenth century scholarship, so later historians have added to it and revised some of its judgments.
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