In the Name of the Family

Posted on 25 February 2018 by Sarah Dunant

It is better to be feared than loved Niccolo Machiavelli In the bear pit of renaissance politics, a young Florentine diplomat finds himself first hand observer on the history s most notorious family the Borgias In the Name of the Family as Blood and Beauty did before holds up a mirror to a turbulent moment of history, sweeping aside the myths to bring alive the real Borgia family complicated, brutal, passionate and glorious Here is a thrilling exploration of the House of Borgia s doomed years, in the company of a young diplomat named Niccolo Machiavelli It is 1502 and Rodrigo Borgia, a self confessed womaniser and master of political corruption is now on the Papal throne as Alexander VI His daughter Lucrezia, aged twenty two, already thrice married and a pawn in her father s plans, is discovering her own power And then there is Cesare Borgia brilliant, ruthless and increasingly unstable it is his relationship with the diplomat Machiavelli which offers a master class on the dark arts of power and politics What Machiavelli learns will go on to inform his great work of modern politics, The Prince But while the pope rails against old age and his son s increasing maverick behavior it is Lucrezia who will become the Borgia survivor taking on her enemies and creating her own place in history.Conjuring up the past in all its complexity, horror and pleasures, In The Name of the Family confirms Sarah Dunant s place as the leading novelist of the Renaissance and one of the most acclaimed historical fiction writers of our age. Download In the Name of the Family – kino-fada.fr This turned out to be the right book at the right time for me I was craving a little historical fiction as well as a reprieve from the hangover I had from some grief filled books that I recently read This gave me both I give it 3.5 stars, and I can t round up to 4 stars because at times it felt somewhat dragged out The other criticism I have is that some of the dialogue feltmodern than I would have thought An unscrupulous man juggling the power of the papacy and the politics of Rome This turned out to be the right book at the right time for me I was craving a little historical fiction as well as a reprieve from the hangover I had from some grief filled books that I recently read This gave me both I give it 3.5 stars, and I can t round up to 4 stars because at times it felt somewhat dragged out The other criticism I have is that some of the dialogue feltmodern than I would have thought An unscrupulous man juggling the power of the papacy and the politics of Rome and the royal courts of the country, his ruthless illegitimate son with ambitions set on acquiringland and riches, his beauti...Renaissance, Italy and the Borgias never fail to attract my notice Such conflicted times, the church all powerful, the Borgias at the height of their powers A corrupt Pope, his acknowledged children, the power they wield and of course Lucrezia Tales of poison, excess, positioning of strengths, all enticing subjects but I had very mixed reaction to this book by an author whose work I had wonderful reading experiences in the past.The atmosphere was lacking, many times things were said or Renaissance, Italy and the Borgias never fail to attract my notice Such conflicted times, the church all powerful, the Borgias at the height of their powers A corrupt Pope, his acknowledged children, the power they wield and of course Lucrezia Tales of poison, excess, positioning of strengths, all enticing subjects but I had very mixed reaction to this book by an author whose work I had wonderful reading experiences in the past.The atmosphere was lacking, many times things were said or thought that I felt would not have been applicable to this time period Just didn t feel enmeshed in the late 1500 s Felt the characters, except maybe for Lucrezia, were wooden, they just didn t bring me into their story The parts with Lucrezia were my favorite, this woman who b...I have loved or at least really liked the Sarah Dunant books I ve read in the past So, I was thrilled to get an ARC of this novel concerning the Borgias I did not read Blood and Beauty, which is the predecessor to this book, detailing the early years of Pope Alexander VI s reign This novel details his later years and the rise of his son, Cesare and daughter, Lucrezia.The book is told from multiple points of view Each chapter is another character and you re inside someone else s head Despite I have loved or at least really liked the Sarah Dunant books I ve read in the past So, I was thrilled to get an ARC of this novel concerning the Borgias I did not read Blood and Beauty, which is the predecessor to this book, detailing...Instagram Twitter FacebookPinterestIf BLOOD BEAUTY is the rise of the Borgia family, then IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY marks their fall This rather chunky work of historical fiction details Alexander Borgia in his old age, losing first power, then his grasp on reality, and finally his own life Beautiful and cunning Cesare is being consumed alive by syphilis, and soon, Lucrezia joins him, catching it from another husband who happens to be a little too fond of Instagram Twitter FacebookPinterestIf BLOOD BEAUTY is the rise of the Borgia family, then IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY marks their fall This rather chunky work of historical fiction details Alexander Borgia in his old age, losing first power, then his grasp on reality, and finally his own life Beautiful and cunning Cesare is being consumed alive by syphilis, and soon, Lucrezia joins him, catching it from another husband who happens to be a little too fond of prostitutes Even though both books are about the same family, the first one sparkles like a d...When I like Sarah Dunant s books I LOVE them I got an ARC of The Birth of Venus thirteen years ago, and I stayed up all night to finish reading it I savored every bit of Sacred Hearts, and it became one of the books I forced people to buy when I worked in the bookstore because I thought everyone in the world should love it as much as I did But when I don t like Sarah Dunant s books I drag my feet through them like a cranky child, and then I m mad that I wasted my time It was like that for me When I like Sarah Dunant s books I LOVE them I got an ARC of The Birth of Venus thirteen years ago, and I stayed up all night to finish reading it I savored every bit of Sacred Hearts, and it became one of the books I forced people to buy when I worked in the bookstore because I thought everyone in the world should love it as much as I did But when I don t like Sarah Dunant s books I drag my feet through them like a cranky child, and then I m mad that I wasted my time It was like that for me with In the Company of the Courtesan and Blood and Beauty I had hoped that this second novel of the Borgias would beinteresting to me For some reason that I am having trouble remembering now, I was really, really excited to read this, and I looked forward to starting it.My enthusiasm for this book hit the bottom pretty quickly I simply could not get into the book, and all the inner thoughts of all the cha...This is the second in Sarah Dunant s series of book about the Borgias but it works well as a standalone novel However, on the strength of this, I will definitely be adding the earlier one to my TBR pile.Sarah Dunant injects colour and life into a cast of real life characters who were already pretty colourful Rodrigo Borgia, risen to become Pope Alexander VI, despite siring illegitimate children, including Cesare and Lucrezia, with a series of mistresses For all the bombast and hyperbole This is the second in Sarah Dunant s series of book about the Borgias but it works well as a standalone novel However, on the strength of this, I will definitely be adding the earlier one to my TBR pile.Sarah Dunant injects colour and life into a cast of real life characters who were already pretty colourful Rodrigo Borgia, risen to become Pope Alexander VI, despite siring il...I knew little about the Borgia family of the early 1500 s going into this book, and I have not read Blood and Beautybut this books seems to stand alone, and it s a whopper I am always intrigued and appalled at the cruelty, lust for power and plain lust and moral depravity of these times Sarah Dunant brought the Borgias Pope Alexander VI Rodrigo Borgia , son Cesare, and daughter Lucretia, to vivid life, as well as Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince The Borgia s lives are all I knew little about the Borgia family of the early 1500 s going into this book, and I...For my full review moved directly from Blood and Beauty to In The Name Of The Family, this is not so long awaited a sequel as it will have been for many other readers I have to admit though that given the emotional high note that Blood and Beauty concluded on, I was very grateful to have the next book on hand Sarah Dunant is a highly skilled and compelling author with clear enthusiasm for her subject and in many ways, this novel felt less of a For my full review moved directly from Blood and Beauty to In The Name Of The Family, this is not so long awaited a sequel as it will have been for many other readers I have to admit though that given the emotional high note that Blood and Beauty concluded on, I was very grateful to have the next book on hand Sarah Dunant is a highly skilled and compelling author with clear enthusiasm for her subject and in many ways, this novel felt l...It s April and this is firmly, absolutely, on my Books of the Year list no doubt about it at all Dunant s been a 3 starrer for me until her Blood and Beauty and this sequel She s adept at getting beneath the skin of figures made bloated and almost cartoonish via the scandalous historical gossip which has fed lurid novels and TV series sold on sex n murder Dunant, instead, goes back to the sources and the scholarship and has fleshed them out so that Roderigo, Lucrezia and Cesare are real It s April and this is firmly, absolutely, on my Books of the Year list no doubt about it at all Dunant s been a 3 starrer for me until her Blood and Beauty and this sequel She s adept at getting beneath the skin of figures made bloated and almost cartoonish via the scandalous historical gossip which has fed lurid novels and TV series sold on sex n murder Dunant, instead, goes back to the sources and the scholarship and has fleshed them out so that Roderigo, Lucrezia and Cesare are real people On top of that, Dunant s ironic commentary, though not qui...A longer review is available on my blog characters in this book are based on true characters and Dunant attempts to keep as much as possible to the true legends of these historical people They are deliciously evil and I read with as much glee as horror at the murderous and manipulative ways of the family that will stop at nothing to conquer as much of Europe as they can They are the most power hungry of power hungry royals The characters are many, A longer review is available on my blog characters in this book are based on true characters and Dunant attempts to keep as much as possible to the true legends of these historical people They are deliciously evil and I read with as much glee as horror at the murderous and manipulative ways of the family that will stop at nothing to conquer as much of Europe as they can They are the mos...

English
25 February 2018

Sarah Dunant