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Even though I'm not a Catholic, it seems almost sacrilegious to be reading John Faunce's historical fiction, LUCREZIA BORGIA, as I am, during Lent. It's a story about the almost mythic femme fatale, yes, but also one of the darkest days of the Catholic Church --- the reign of Pope Alexander VI.
In his first novel, Faunce has given us a wildly sensationalistic retelling of the lives of the Borgias, viewed through the eyes of Lucrezia, acknowledged daughter of Roderigo, who became Pope Alexander VI in 1492. These were the days when a Pope had more financial and military power than did many kings. Those unfamiliar with Renaissance-era papal history may be surprised, even shocked, to learn of the goings-on at the Vatican. The debauchery included, at the more pleasant end, huge Dionysian banquets and ranged from sex to murder, all of which Lucrezia was a proud participant. She, however, was not the most notorious member of the Borgia family. That honor belonged to her brother Cesare, who first serves as Cardinal of Valenica, then becomes a bloodthirsty, gold-mongering pseudo-emperor.
As was common for noblewomen of her day, Lucrezia's marriages served more of a political end than a romantic one. Her first husband, the comparatively elderly (37) Giovanni Sforza, provided her with a measure of admiration and security, if not the carnal bliss she craved. Since no heir was apparent in three years time, the marriage was quickly annulled and Lucrezia declared a "virga intacta," not quite as hard as it sounds, considering her father was the Pope. Faunce neglects most of the political action and instead exploits the erotic liaisons between Lucrezia and Giovanni, then Lucrezia and Alphonso (husband #2) and then Lucrezia and another Alphonso (husband #3).
Her truest love is the first Alphonso, whom she describes upon first glancing at him as "clean-shaven; his brunette hair slouched in an arousing wave across his forehead. He had the body of an eighteen-year old --- as had I --- the physical perfection of all my girlish fantasies. I prayed he'd find me his analogous female." He does find her perfect, perhaps to his later dismay as he meets a messy and untimely end at the hand of her brother, Cesare.
While definitely leaning more toward the titillating than the educational, Faunce does pepper his purple prose with a number of interesting historical details. The dinner following one of Lucrezia's weddings was an exact replica of the dinner following the wedding of Augustus Caesar's sister. The menu included "swan skin stuffed with forcemeats" for the men and for the women, "foods the ancients thought especially conducive to conception" such as "stuffed pigeons and squid stuffed with veal brains." Yum. We also witness marriage rites such as the "Visigoth ceremony" where a bridegroom has intercourse with his naked bride in full view of hundreds of wedding guests. What would Martha Stewart have to say about this?
Faunce is a movie producer and screenwriter, not a historian, so at times LUCREZIA BORGIA is about as far from history as one could get. His prose is unctuous and for the most part entertaining, although a tad overblown at times. It is several steps above your average bodice-ripper and just may be coming soon to a theater near you.
--- Reviewed by Shannon Bloomstran
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