The Borgias Av Paul Strathern

<p><b>¿ ¿ A <i>Daily Mail</i> Book of the Week ¿ ¿</b><br><b><br>The sensational story of the rise and fall of one of the most notorious families in history.</b><br><b>____________________</b><br><br><b> ''A wickedly entertaining read'' <i>The Times</i></b><br><b>____________________</b><br><br>The Borgias have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthlessness, avarice and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. But the story of this remarkable family is far more than a tale of sensational depravities - it also marks the golden age of the Italian Renaissance and a decisive turning point in European history. <br><br>From the family''s Spanish roots and the papacy of Rodrigo Borgia, to the lives of his infamous offspring, Lucrezia and Cesare - the hero who dazzled Machiavelli, but also the man who befriended Leonardo da Vinci - Paul Strathern tells the captivating story of this great dynasty and the world in which they flourished.<br><br><b>''A vivid insight