Baron Corvo was an apologist for the Borgias and not to be taken too seriously. He thinks their crimes too monstrously inhuman to be true. The murders attributed to Cesare and Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Aexander VI) fail of proof, he argues. If they happened at all they were committed by someone else. He admits that Cesare Borgia ordered the murder of Lucretia's second husband, but excuses it as self defense. This is preposterous, according to contemporary accounts. The victim was convalescing in bed when he was strangled. Corvo admits that people who wrote epigrams about Cesare were punished by losing their tongues and right hands. Was this also excusable behavior?

He admits that Pope Alexander fathered at least seven bastard children but this was permissible, he says, according to the moral standards of the day. Other than that, he was a great man and beyond reproach. He argues that Pope Alexander did not cause the failure of Lucretia Borgia's first marriage. That Cesare Borgia brought law, order, and prosperity to the Papal States. That simony also was the norm. Why not leave the sins of the Borgias to the recording angel? he asks.

There is a lot of uncertainty about the Borgias, but this book is a snow job. At times it is racist. Is it worth reading? It is original. Some of this material is not available elsewhere. How else would we know that Lucretia's mother was known as "Big Jenny"? Some of its claims might even be true, but I wouldn't count on it. It too often conflicts with other histories of this family, in dates and in more important matters. ( )

1/28/23