Poison in the Blood, by M.G. Scarsbrook

I received Poison In The Blood: The Memoirs of Lucrezia Borgia, by M.G. Scarsbrook, as a review copy from Red Adept Reviews. It was in mobi format and appears identical to the version available on Amazon.com. The version I reviewed ended at approximately 75% with the rest being a preview of another book by this author (which I did not read).

Description (from Amazon.com):

Lucrezia Borgia fights to save her husband from assassination by her powerful family…

1497, Renaissance Rome: As the teenage daughter of Pope Alexander VI, Lucrezia Borgia is a young noblewoman immersed in all the glamour of the Vatican Palace. Yet after a brutal killing shocks the city, Lucrezia learns that a dark truth lies beneath the surface of the Papal Court: in their ruthless quest for power, her father and brother are willing to poison their enemies.

Her family are murderers.

After discovering that her new husband is next to die, Lucrezia struggles to help him escape from Rome before the assassins strike. Against a barrage of political intrigues, papal spies, and diabolical tricks, Lucrezia uses all her wits to defy her family and save her husband from assassination. But as tragedy looms ever closer, and her plans gradually fail, she finds herself confronting an enemy far more sinister than she ever imagined…

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Plot: 4 stars

This story is told in the first person singular voice, as it purports to be the memoirs of Lucrezia Borgia. All events are told from her viewpoint, and all characters are shown as she would have perceived them. The story starts in 1597 when Lucrezia was 17 years old, and ends in 1500 with the deaths of her family members. I enjoyed the story; it teetered right at the edge between being YA and being more suited for adults. Lucrezia briefly gives the background of her early life and her relationship with her father, Pope Alexander VI, and her brother Cesare Borgia. She tells of her meeting with her future husband, the Aragonese Alfonso, Duke of Bisceglie; their marriage and child; and her growing unease about the probability that either her father, her brother, or both were poisoning political opponents to further the Borgia cause. Events come to a head when Alfonso is attacked and nearly killed.

Characters: 4 stars

Lucrezia is portrayed as a very strong, intelligent woman, which is historically correct. She takes the lead in trying to oppose her family and escape from Rome with her husband. She is very likeable and is shown as a good person who wants only to be left alone to enjoy her husband and child, unlike the more traditional portrayal of her as an adulteress and poisoner. Alexander VI comes across as just plain creepy and a consummate emotional manipulator. Cesare is proud and arrogant – the stereotypical Renaissance nobleman. His sole redeeming quality is his care for his younger sister, but even there, something comes across as ‘not quite right’ – perhaps a nod to the rumors of incest between him and Lucrezia. Alfonso is a nice guy, but weak and lacking in real personality, especially by the standards of the age in which he lived. Lucrezia and Alfonso are totally sympathetic characters while Alexander and Cesare are not.

Writing Style: 3 ½ stars

I enjoyed the author’s writing style. It was very simple and easy to read. Generally speaking, simple declarative sentences were used and characters spoke casual modern English – no attempt was made to ‘pretend’ that they were really speaking Italian or Latin. Chapters were quite short and each one dealt with one incident or episode, which led to a very clear and concise overall style with ideas neatly packaged and presented. I did notice that the author slipped into the “had I but known” omniscient voice every so often. Once or twice would not be a problem, but it was somewhat over-used. I did notice a few scattered issues with homophones (ex. ‘reigns’ instead of ‘reins’ when used of a horse), but they were few and far between.

Historical Veracity:

I am adding the ‘historical veracity’ category because while the characters are very well drawn, a quick Internet search turns up the fact that the author has played fast and loose with the historical aspects. For most of the book, this was not an issue, or at least not noticeable, but toward the end, the errors became more obvious and more important to the story. Some were obviously due to literary license being taken; others could have very easily been corrected. As an example of the first type, no mention was made of the fact that Don Alfonso was Lucrezia’s second husband and their son was not her first child. More disturbing was the fact that the author had Cesare and Alexander die together, several years before either actually did die (the year was carefully specified as 1500) and, for Cesare, in a manner totally different from the historical facts. Alexander died in 1503, and Cesare in 1507. Another error that could have been easily corrected was that the Pope elected to succeed Alexander was Julius II, when it was actually Pius III (Cardinal Piccolomini).  Although Pius III ‘s reign lasted for only 26 days, disregarding his papacy served no literary purpose in the context of this book. There were a few other historical inaccuracies that did not affect the story, but taken all together, this gives a poor impression of the value the author placed on historical accuracy in what purports to be a memoir, where the writer would have been ‘on the spot’ and known the facts.

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From the author, M.G. Scarsbrook:

M. G. Scarsbrook is a prize-winning screenwriter and author of the historical suspense novels THE MARLOWE CONSPIRACY and POISON IN THE BLOOD: THE MEMOIRS OF LUCREZIA BORGIA. He recently adapted THE MARLOWE CONSPIRACY into a screenplay and won the nationwide Writers On The Storm Screenwriting Contest, placing first out of 1000 entries. This script has also ranked within the top 30 at the Nicholl Fellowships, the most prestigious screenwriting contest in the world. He currently lives in Southern California and is now at work on a new detective series. To learn more, please visit his website at www.mgscarsbrook.com

Poison In The Blood: The Memoirs of Lucrezia Borgia, by M.G. Scarsbrook