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The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
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The Borgias
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Summary
The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
This is but one of several paradoxes associated with the Borgia family. For the family which produced corrupt popes, depraved princes, and poisoners, would also produce a saint. These paradoxes which so characterize the Borgias have seldom been examined in great detail. Previously history has tended to condemn, or attempt in part to exonerate, this remarkable family. Yet in order to understand the Borgias, much more is needed than evidence for and against. The Borgias must be related to their time, together with the world which enabled them to flourish. Within this context the Renaissance itself takes on a very different aspect. Was the corruption part of the creation, or vice versa?
The primitive psychological forces which first played out in the amphitheaters of ancient Greece are all here. Along with the final, tragic downfall.
What listeners say about The Borgias
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Thom
- 10-07-23
Excellent
Fabulously told and brilliantly performed. It is great that gems like this are included with the subscription.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- emrys
- 04-06-22
Enjoyable
A very good, interesting and most enjoyable book to listen to. I must say that it does not follow some other books I have read about the Borgias. In one the Borgia children are not the Pope's actual offspring, but I suppose it is so far in the past that we cannot now know.
A very good narration.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- LC
- 18-01-22
Interesting and well presented
I enjoyed this, both as history and a an interesting story in itself. It took a while to get into because of familiarising with the various people, places, and things going on etc.
Well written and well read.
I will probably listen again sometime as i expect it to make more sense now I have built up a picture of who is who and the various forces and positions involved.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dr J Eyre
- 13-06-23
Entertaining
Enjoyed
Very thorough and informative coverage of one of Renaissances most important family histories
Well read
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- davidxela@yahoo.co.uk
- 10-08-23
Excellent listen
Fascinating and Thorough I really enjoyed listening to this book. Very detailed and comprehensive, this is the best account of the Borgias I've heard.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 26-12-23
Amazing peek into history
Loved listening to the history of this famously ruthless family, the politics of the period seems very relevant today, highly recommend it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew
- 24-03-21
Absolutely Fascinating
This book really does get you hooked and does not disappoint. It reads like a renaissance soap opera!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. Sam Richman
- 07-11-19
Superb, never such colourful historic reading
Just amazing, I am at a loss for words. A very interesting insight into the machinations of power, lust, betrayal and humanity.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Liam
- 16-10-20
Must read if you're interested in European history
This book was a very exciting read, well researched and gives a clear picture of the borgia family and the controversy surrounding them. Strathern is a talented storyteller and presents the story of the borgias masterfully in this book. If you are interested in the renaissance or just interested in scandal, this book is for you.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Thamesis
- 28-10-22
Writing and narration excellent but details utterly nauseating.
This is a truly excellent history of the Borgias, exhaustive yet exhausting. The narration is perfect but, even for someone used to reading about the Great War and the Holocaust, this was truly nauseating. The level of corruption and sheer cruelty was appalling. The Catholic leadership was disgusting, truly disgusting, and the suffering meted out to all and sundry was dreadful. As I read the book I became more and more gloomy until I thought “Life’s too short - be happy and read about brighter things.” So, in essence, a wonderfully researched and written book, with faultless narration, but subject matter (incessant murder, torture, rape, syphilis, incest) gets to you. I gave up with five hours of misery still to go - hoping the Borgias got their comeuppance. Other reviewers found this “fascinating” and “exciting” and that it was like a “soap opera” but this wasn’t a soap opera, it was the unimaginable suffering of REAL human beings and for me that is not “exciting” but tragic and upsetting.
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