Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and a central figure in the marriage politics of the Borgia family. Her first marriage was annulled, her second husband was murdered and her third marriage made her duchess of Ferrara. Hostile stories accused her of incest and poisoning, but the evidence instead shows an educated noblewoman who governed in her husband’s absence, patronised writers and artists and developed a respected court life in Ferrara.

Sarah Dunant’s Blood & Beauty and In the Name of the Family give Lucrezia a nuanced role within Borgia politics, while Mario Puzo’s The Family presents a darker dynastic saga. Numerous earlier novels treated her as a beautiful poisoner. Modern fiction increasingly separates documented family strategy from sensational rumours created by enemies and later writers.