The Life of Cesare Borgia [Paperback]

Rafael Sabatini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

Most people consider Cesare Borgia one of history's villans -- there are foul rumors that fly around the man's history, dispicable tales of dispicable acts: there is litytle he has not been accused of, in fact. Rafael Sabatini -- famed novelist, author of such deservedly renowned classics as Scaramouche_ and Captain Blood_ -- had a very sifferent idea of who Cesare Borgia was. Sabatini may be right: Borgia may have been one of history's great men, consigned to villany because his enemies wrote the histories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587156628
• ISBN-13: 978-1587156625
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,192,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading, April 7, 2011

By 

Chicot le Fou "BOOK , MUSIC & FILM LOVER" (Tir Na Nog) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life of Cesare Borgia (Paperback)

The Life of Cesare Borgia Mr. Sabatini was a highly educated , multi lingual historian ( although most of his writing was historical fiction ). In this biography , he shames all of the lazy inept " historians " of hundreds of years who merely repeated the nonsense of their predecessors. He went to original source material and provides a well reasoned, balanced and believable account of ,primarily , Cesare but also his family and the world in which they lived . Sabatini clears away most of the preposterous infamies the Borgias have become " known " for ; incest , poisonings , et al . He does not present pure images of Roderigo and Cesare ; but he does show that in their actions they were , at least , no worse than their contemporaries . He presents evidence of their superior abilities and of how the stories of their supposed sins came about and convincingly refutes most of them . In particular , he completely clears the reputation of poor Lucrezia ( one of the 3 most defamed women in history , along with Cleopatra and Mary Magdalene ). She was , as was the custom of the times , a pawn in the political alliances of powerful men . In fact , it's impossible not to pity her once Sabatini exposes the truth behind centuries of lies . She had a rather sad life . Cesare and Roderigo were ambitious , at times ruthless , power players in their world . Mr. Sabatini gives us a picture of two men whom you might not care to spend your vacation with but who had many admirable qualities and were hardly the monsters they have been painted as by laggardly , foolish pseudo- historians who lacked Sabatini's breadth of knowledge and commitment to historical accuracy .People must be judged in the context of their time and place . There is no room in historical research for the imposition of late 20th /early 21st century mores or biases. Highly recommended !

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Viewpoint, October 13, 2010

By 

B. Sandborg "nsgsurfer" (Tashkent) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Life of Cesare Borgia (Paperback)

Being a Borgia buff, it was interesting to read a book that focused mostly on Cesare's life. I learned quite a bit more than I already knew and it also reinforced some of my ideas about the family and general politics of the time. A fascinating read in general.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is a Reading Good Books review., January 31, 2012

By 

Catrina T. (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life of Cesare Borgia (Paperback)

I have to be honest, it was not an easy read. Informative and interesting, very much. But at times, it was slow and very wordy. Well, it was written in 1912-ish so I have to consider the style during that time. I do like History and Historical Fiction - and lately, the Borgia family, so this was right up my alley.

The book talks about Cesare Borgia, his life, his work, and what was said about him. Sabatini quoted many Borgia historians whether they were pro- or anti-Borgia. At parts, the author praised Cesare Borgia's appearance and wit. It took every contradiction to Cesare's character like a grain of salt, giving him the benefit of the doubt. But the book itself never blatantly took sides. It never gave a piece of information that was not backed up by quotes or historical proof. The author did a great job compiling everything and making it concise.

It was new to me to read a book about the Borgias that did not dwell heavily on either Rodrigo or Lucrezia. Cesare Borgia is my favorite member of that family and he really was a fascinating man.

Rating: 3/5

Recommendation: If you are into the whole Renaissance era, this is a good book in your reference section. Majority of the Borgia books out there are about Lucrezia. This one is centered on Cesare, probably the leading book if you want to read about the man.