remained at his estate until his death in 1517.
Historians have speculated for centuries as to who actually poisoned Alexander VI and his eldest son. The mystery has never been solved.
Sancha of Aragon and the Borgias provided delicious nuggets of history. Here are some recorded facts which are included in this novel: the madness of Ferrante I and Alfonso II of Naples; Ferrante’s ‘museum’ of mummified enemies (yes, he talked to them); Alfonso II’s witnessing of his own daughter’s marriage act with Jofre Borgia; Alfonso II’s abandonment of Naples and theft of the Crown treasure; Savonarola’s prediction that Pope Alexander VI was the Antichrist; the Pope’s lewd conduct with women, including his fondness for dropping chocolates down women’s bodices, and his love for his teenage mistress, Giulia; Lucrezia’s unwed pregnancy and her incest with her father and brother; the murders of dozens of cardinals and nobles by the Borgias; the filling of the Tiber River with literally hundreds of bodies during the period of the ‘Borgia terror’ the hanging of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza’s guest; Cesare’s murder of his brother, Juan, Duke of Gandia; Cesare’s acts of rape and barbarism during the war; Don Micheletto Corella’s murder of Alfonso of Aragon in the Hall of the Sibyls; Sancha’s arrest and subsequent mad preaching from the Castel Sant’Angelo tower. I have omitted mention of numerous other murders to spare the reader redundancy.
Acknowledgements
This novel centres around a woman thrust into the role of a hero. Heroes are uncommon, but I have been blessed to come across more than a few in my life, and I would like to name some of them here.
First, I am indebted to Jane Johnson-especially for her extreme patience, her keen, boundless talent as an editor, and her refusal to accept less than my best. Without her inspired comments and suggestions, this book simply would not be. Thanks must also go to her associate at HarperCollins UK, Emma Coode, for all her wise input. Both have, in no small way, helped to shape this novel for the better.
I am also deeply grateful to my heroic U.S. agent, Russell Galen, for his saintly tolerance, his unwavering support, and his constant hand-holding; in addition I wish to thank my foreign agent, Danny Baror, for his unparalleled tenacity as my advocate. Both of these gentlemen are brilliant negotiators; I’m fortunate to have them on my side.
Now, the greatest hero of all: my husband, George. George has endured with good humour what no partner should have to-helping an extremely cranky novelist edit her bulky manuscript. His eye for spotting repetitious phrases and logical gaps is unmatched, and he offered up numerous ideas (which I cheerfully stole) for making dull scenes in this novel come to life. (His suggestions for Sancha and Jofre’s wedding night helped make the encounter far more poignant.) Over the twenty-odd years I’ve been writing, George has been pressed into service countless times during every stage of the book. Here are heartfelt thanks for you, sweetheart, though I know they do little to ease the pain.
Jeanne Kalogridis
