- Paperback: 560 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (7 Feb 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007201362
- ISBN-13: 978-0007201365
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,561,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Borgia Bride
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Philippa Gregory
'The sumptuous story of a young woman ... The events of her life are gripping, from sexual passion to mortal danger.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Incest. Poison. Betrayal. Three wedding presents for the Borgia bride...
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 93 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I started this book first thing one morning and before I knew it it was 4pm and I was nearing the end!!!! Yes, it really is one of those books that you can't physically put down. The Borgia Bride tells the story of Sancha of Aragon who married into the Borgia family by way of Jofre Borgia. She left her native Naples and ended up in Rome living alongside the famous Borgia clan comprising Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander IV), the infamous Lucrezia Borgia, as well as her husbands brothers, Cesare and Juan who were both to take parts in her life. The authors portrayal of each and every character is incredible and you can really see the settings in your mind's eye. The story really goes full steam ahead when Sancha falls passionately in love with Cesare Borgia, a man she believes is perfect but unfortunately for her, her initial beliefs could not be further from the truth!!! It is in fact the author's portrayal of Lucrezia Borgia which I particularly liked, instead of portraying her as the black widow and evil woman she is usually portrayed as, Lucrezia is shown to be at times simply a political and sexual puppet for her father and brother Cesare. The plot is heart wrenching, gut wrenching, and at times so full of suspense you will find yourself holding your breath. An amazing must read book!!
50 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was looking forward to reading this but admit to being a little disappointed in this book. It charts part of the life of Sanchia of Aragon, the illegitimate princess of Naples who married into the notorious Borgia family. It brings to life the scandalous nature of the Borgias, particularly the alleged incestuous relationship between Lucrezia and her father Alexander VI and her brother (and Sanchia's lover) Cesare Borgia. However, the author has chosen to ignore some of the more scandalous facets to Sanchia's character, such as the alleged number of her pre-marital affairs, limiting these to one, and suggests that the only extra-martial love affair was with Cesare Borgia. Sanchia is not as politically scheming as she has been described, although it is pleasant for the protangonist to be someone other than a Borgia in a work of fiction about them. However, this is essentially the problem; the novel is supposed to be about Sanchia but it is actually about the Borgias. This is reinforced when the book ends prematurely (at the fall of the Borgias) and does not detail the remaining years of Sanchia's life, save a brief mention in a postscript to the novel. This feels unsatisfactory as throughout the novel the drama unfolds through Sanchia's eyes but there is no real sense of what Sanchia's conclusion is. It is a well paced and dramatic novel and is very easy to read - I finished it in a couple of days. However, as the book purports to tell Sanchia's story in her own voice, I anticipated a greater attempt to explain her reactions and emotions to the events as they unfolded. Sanchia's love for her younger brother is well developed, but her initial love / lust for Cesare is relatively unexplained and her sudden switching to hate for him lacks the sort of heartache I expected. Overall I would recommend reading this as it is an easy, pleasant read and anyone who enjoys historical fiction will like this a lot.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you like Phillipa Gregory - with a mix of sex, murder and politics - this is the book for you. Even if historical fiction is not generally your cup of tea, this book will keep you captivated.
The Borgias had always fascinated me with the sensational and often gruesome traces they had left in history - and none more so than Cesare Borgia. That is why I had picked up this book, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of Cesare and the rest of his family from a fiction perspective. I must say that overall, I was not disappointed. As can be seen from the afterword, the author had done her research very well. The Borgias are an enigmatic family - there is little known about the dynasty, save for the few scandalous facts which the author had used to create her scandalous story.
From the beginning the novel was mesmerising; compelling the reader to blindly keep turning the pages even through the night (I had managed to finish the novel in 2 days in between school) - finishing with a gripping finale. The atmosphere the author had built up sucks you in, succeeding in transporting you back to 16th century Italy.
However, I did knock off one star because of the few things that nagged me throughout the novel. First, the explicit sex scenes - though it adds to the whole 'sensational' aspect of the story it was altogether too graphic and degraded the novel. For this reason I cannot readily recommend the book to others as the sexual references can be downright embarrassing. Some parts of the novel I felt were distinctly mediocre, reading like a Hollywood melodrama or elaborate erotica.
Another point was the lack of buildup between Cesare and Sancha - after waiting pages and pages for Cesare to appear, they fall too quickly into love. Sex alone is not the same without the romantic tension, the chase etc that makes a juicy love story. Similarly, Sancha falls too quickly out of love - I had expected more heartaches, dramatic dilemmas and basically for it to be much more convincing. Without their love affair being truly believable, the rest of the story did not really catch on.
But I am pleased with the book, overall, and it inspires you to find out everything you can about the Borgias and the House of Aragon.
The Borgias had always fascinated me with the sensational and often gruesome traces they had left in history - and none more so than Cesare Borgia. That is why I had picked up this book, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of Cesare and the rest of his family from a fiction perspective. I must say that overall, I was not disappointed. As can be seen from the afterword, the author had done her research very well. The Borgias are an enigmatic family - there is little known about the dynasty, save for the few scandalous facts which the author had used to create her scandalous story.
From the beginning the novel was mesmerising; compelling the reader to blindly keep turning the pages even through the night (I had managed to finish the novel in 2 days in between school) - finishing with a gripping finale. The atmosphere the author had built up sucks you in, succeeding in transporting you back to 16th century Italy.
However, I did knock off one star because of the few things that nagged me throughout the novel. First, the explicit sex scenes - though it adds to the whole 'sensational' aspect of the story it was altogether too graphic and degraded the novel. For this reason I cannot readily recommend the book to others as the sexual references can be downright embarrassing. Some parts of the novel I felt were distinctly mediocre, reading like a Hollywood melodrama or elaborate erotica.
Another point was the lack of buildup between Cesare and Sancha - after waiting pages and pages for Cesare to appear, they fall too quickly into love. Sex alone is not the same without the romantic tension, the chase etc that makes a juicy love story. Similarly, Sancha falls too quickly out of love - I had expected more heartaches, dramatic dilemmas and basically for it to be much more convincing. Without their love affair being truly believable, the rest of the story did not really catch on.
But I am pleased with the book, overall, and it inspires you to find out everything you can about the Borgias and the House of Aragon.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
None
an excellent read. didnt know much about the borgias as am a tudor fan but this is a book with a good pace and wanting to keep reading.
Published 6 days ago by Mr N Powell
A thoroughly enjoyable and intelligent read
This is the first book by Jeanne Kalogridis that I have read and it was fantastic. As historical fiction is my favourite genre, I am always keen to try new authors and I wasn't... Read more
Published 22 days ago by DizzyLizzy
Borgia Bride
Great reading. If you like Georgette Heyer/jJean Plaidy/Victoria Holt type books then this is a must for you. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Maxwell
Why did I bother?
I bought this book because its a period of history in which I am particularly interested and Sanchia of Aragon is a character of which little is written, much is speculated about... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gill Keber
Thoroughly enjoyable
I am very surprised at some of the negative comments in the reviews. For my part I was delighted with it, obviously well researched and a page turner. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gilbert Peter Blackman
The Borgias
I have just finished reading The Borgia Bride which I found I could not put down. To learn about the evil that was the Borgias in a story was great,I cannot take in historical... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Pennyp
spelling binding read
found this book riveting from beginning to end the historical knowledge was well researched hope i can find another read as good!
Published 2 months ago by readalot
BEST BORGIA BOOK
As the title states, this book is the best Borgia book I have read. It brings the renaissance setting of Italy alive, making the book a perfect holiday read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Harrietlovesbooks
Nice book
Nice book just following up the tv show Borgias seems to be the same more or less but from the side of Napoli.
Pleased with the book so far
Pleased with the book so far
Published 11 months ago by N7
Amazing!
This is the only book to have given me nightmares. Cesare is a truly terrifying character in this book. This book is not for the faint hearted, however. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Ms. J. Musgrave
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
