The Borgias (Penguin Classics)

The name Borgia is synonymous with the political corruption, greed, incest, and murder that was rife in Renaissance Italy. Rodrigo Borgia-Pope Alexander VI-the first man to have clearly bought himself the papacy, and two of his infamous illegitimate children-Cesare and Lucrezia-were the three central figures of the Borgia dynasty, notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder. Marion Johnson plots the dynasty's dramatic rise from its beginnings in Spain to its occupation of the highest position in Renaissance society, examining how far the myth of the Borgias is borne out by historical facts. Behind the gaudy horrors, she concludes, lie people of great talent and achievement, possessors, even, of moderate virtues.

Now deceased, Johnson lived in Rome in 1944 while working for the British Foreign Office and became interested in the dynasty that established itself there during the Renaissance and has become the epitome of political intrigue and corruption. Her account was originally published by Macdonald in 1981.
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Marion Johnson made her home in Rome while working for the British Foreign Office, where she discovered the Borgias legend.