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The Borgias: Power and Fortune
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The Borgias: Power and Fortune Paperback -

by Paul Strathern


From the publisher

The glorious and infamous history of the Borgia family--a world of saints, corrupt popes, and depraved princes and poisoners--set against the golden age of the Italian Renaissance.

The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice and vicious cruelty--all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.

This is but one of several paradoxes associated with the Borgia family. For the family which produced corrupt popes, depraved princes and poisoners, would also produce a saint. These paradoxes which so characterize the Borgias have seldom been examined in great detail. Previously history has tended to condemn, or attempt in part to exonerate, this remarkable family. Yet in order to understand the Borgias, much more is needed than evidence for and against. The Borgias must be related to their time, together with the world which enabled them to flourish. Within this context the Renaissance itself takes on a very different aspect. Was the corruption part of the creation, or vice versa? Would one have been possible without the other?

In this way, the Borgia too represent the greatest aspirations of the Renaissance. Condemning the Borgia is as futile as attempting to exonerate them. Their leadership and their depravity must both be taken into account, for it would appear that they are both part of the same picture. In the nineteenth century the German philosopher Nietzsche would outline his theory of the Will to Power. In the ensuing century this idea would be hijacked by the Fascists and put into ruthless practice. The Borgia were no Fascists, nor were they thinkers of the calibre of Nietzsche: yet it is arguable that they united both the idea and the practice of the Will to Power some four centuries prior to Nietzsche's conception of this guiding human principle. Telling the story of the Borgias becomes both an illustration and an exemplary analysis of the strengths and flaws of this evolutionary idea.

The primitive psychological forces which first played out in the amphitheaters of ancient Greece: hubris, incest, murder, the bitter rivalries and entanglements of doomed families, the treacheries of political power, the twists of fate--they are all here. Along with the final, tragic downfall. All these elements are played out in full in the glorious and infamous history of the Borgia family.

Details

  • Title The Borgias: Power and Fortune
  • Author Paul Strathern
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 400
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Pegasus Books
  • ISBN 9781643136110 / 1643136119
  • Weight 0.83 lbs (0.38 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.3 in (20.83 x 13.72 x 3.30 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 15th Century
    • Chronological Period: 16th Century
    • Cultural Region: Italy
  • Dewey Decimal Code 945.050

About the author

Paul Strathern is a Somerset Maugham Award-winning novelist, and his nonfiction works include The Venetians, Death in Florence, The Medici, Mendeleyev's Dream, The Florentines, Empire, and The Borgias, all available from Pegasus Books. He lives in England.
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The Borgias: Power and Fortune (Italian Histories)
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borgias: Power and Fortune (Italian Histories)

by Strathern, Paul

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781643136110 / 1643136119
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The Borgias: Power and Fortune (Italian Histories)
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borgias: Power and Fortune (Italian Histories)

by Strathern, Paul

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used: Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781643136110 / 1643136119
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1
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This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
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Description:
Pegasus Books, 2020-12-08. Paperback. Used: Good.
Item Price
NZ$35.12
FREE shipping to USA