A Times Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year * A Cosmopolitan Best Book of the Year * A History Today Book of the YearConfirms Sarah Dunant's place as the leading novelist of the Renaissance and one of the most acclaimed historical fiction writers of our age. Follows the brilliant Blood and Beauty and The Birth of Venus

The Times: Books of the Year, Best Historical Fiction of 2017
`A stunning tale of power and family'
Cosmpolitan Best Books of 2017
`Dunant's vivid novel takes us back to Renaissance Italy ... I was gripped from start to finish'
History Today: A Best History Book of the Year
`Meticulously researched'

`Dunant has made completely her own the story of Italy's most famous ruling family ... in a way that we can see, hear and smell' Mark Lawson, Guardian

`In Dunant's telling of the Borgia story, Lucrezia is not the sluttish power-crazed poisoner of legend... Love for Lucrezia is dangerous ... Dunant has a storyteller's instincts ... this and her glorious prose make her version irresistible' - Antonia Senior, The Times

`Stuffed with violence, danger and passion' Daily Mail

In this follow-up to the superb Blood and Beauty, Lucrezia is sent to meet her boorish third husband, while Cesare's pox-fuelled madness deepens. A stunning tale of power and family from Sarah Dunant