My, what a nasty lot those Borgias were. Rodrigo Borgia became pope in 1492; he had several illegitimate children and very little Godliness about him. The novel is well written and adequately details the vice and corruption of Borgia’s reign but it’s hard to really care about him or his family as they’re all so venal. As far as historical fiction go, Hilary Mantel does a better job with Cromwell in Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
