In the Name of the Family

Summary (from the publisher): 1502 and Renaissance Italy is in turmoil. Backed by the money and wily power of his aging father Pope Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia is soaring like a military comet, carving out a state for the Borgia dynasty. From Florence, a young diplomat, one Niccolo Machiavelli, is sent to shadow him to keep track of the danger. While many tremble in the presence of this brilliant unscrupulous man, Machiavelli is entranced and the relationship he forges with Cesare allows him - and us - to witness history in the making.

Meanwhile, the Pope's beloved daughter Lucrezia is on her way to a third dynastic marriage in the state of Ferrara, where if she is to survive she must fast produce an heir for the rival Este family. Cesare holds his sister dear, but striving always for conquest rather than conciliation, he pays little mind to her precarious position. As the Borgia enemies gather, in Rome, the pope grows older and ever more cantankerous.

Drawing us in with her dynamic prose and intimate knowledge of one of the most fascinating periods in Italian history, Sarah Dunant dramatises the rise of one of history's most fascinating characters, Niccolo Machiavelli, during the formative years of his life. In the Name of the Family breathes new life into the daring and corruption of a family that history will never forget. This is a moment from which no one will emerges unscathed.  

 

Review: I received an advanced uncorrected proof copy of this novel as a giveaway on Goodreads.

 

This novel continues the saga of the Borgia family where Dunant left off at the conclusion of Blood and Beauty. Pope Alexander VI is now an aging man, growing frailer and more concerned with his legacy by the day. His son Cesare Borgia is as ruthless and power hungry as ever, and continues to plunder across Europe in his efforts to build a Borgia dynasty. Meanwhile, the Pope's daughter Lucrezia is now on her third marriage, a political pawn between her father in Rome and her husband's new family in Ferrara. And in this novel, Dunant introduces the voice of a young diplomat, Niccolo Machiavelli, who is shadowing Cesare in an effort to track his progress and danger.

 

Just as with her other novels, Dunant has written another story that is both well researched and well written. Spare turns of phrase, such as Dunant's description of the frozen earth, "the ground cracks like small bones under his feet" (4) and Lucrezia's description of her new husband's kissing technique, "like a wet dog flopping down onto a hearth," (40) were striking in their originality and vividness. In terms of the plotline, I particularly enjoyed reading Lucrezia's thread of the story, as she navigates a distant husband and her husband's less than gracious father and sister.

 

I was less inspired by Cesare and the Pope's storylines, as they focused mainly on the decline of the Borgia's once great power and were heavy on political intrigue. Additionally, Lucrezia is the most fully fleshed out character; Cesare and the Pope seemed almost like caricature of violent, power-hungry stock figures rather than full bodied individuals. On the whole, this novel was less thrilling than Dunant's earlier novel on the Borgias since it follows their demise. The novel felt like one downhill slope, dragging the family into death. This was never more poignantly felt than in one of the final scenes with the Pope, when he mentally pats himself on the back for saving some kittens that were born under the altar of the church: "The guards wait till he has left, then dig out the little parcels of damp warm fur and drown them in the nearest water butt outside" (338). Only in the aging pope's mind does he command the power and respect that he once did.

 

Stars: 3

 

Related Titles:

• Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant
• The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant