Blood and Beauty: The Borgias by Sarah Dunant. “Despite the frothy title, this is actually a beautifully written and researched novel of the notorious Borgia family in 15th century Rome. The characters are so vividly sketched that it reminded me of of Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy ("Wolf Hall," etc.) Definitely superior to Dunant's earlier novels set in Florence. And the best news: Dunant says a sequel is coming soon.”
