Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madonna of the Seven Hills | 1958 | Eleanor Burford / Hibbert | Buy |
| 2 | Light on Lucrezia | 1958 | Eleanor Burford / Hibbert | Buy |
The Lucrezia Borgia duology by Eleanor Burford Hibbert, writing as Jean Plaidy, covers the life of one of the Renaissance’s most talked-about women. Madonna of the Seven Hills begins with Lucrezia’s childhood in Rome as the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who later becomes Pope Alexander VI. The novel follows the Borgia family’s rise to power and the arranged marriages that Lucrezia was forced into for political advantage.
Light on Lucrezia continues the story as Lucrezia moves to Ferrara for her third marriage, to Alfonso d’Este. Away from the direct influence of her father and brother Cesare, she builds a new life as a patron of the arts and a respected duchess. Plaidy draws on historical sources to argue that much of Lucrezia’s dark reputation was exaggerated by the Borgias’ enemies. Readers who enjoy this period of Italian history may also want to explore the Catherine de Medici trilogy, which covers the Medici family’s influence on the French court a few decades later.