In the Name of the Family
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Nicholas Boulton
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By:
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Sarah Dunant
About this listen
The author of Blood and Beauty returns with another captivating novel about Renaissance Italy and one of history's most notorious families. Before the Corleones, before the Lannisters, there were the Borgias.
Best-selling novelist Sarah Dunant has long been drawn to the high drama of Renaissance Italy: power, passion, beauty, brutality, and the ties of blood. With In the Name of the Family, she offers a thrilling exploration of the House of Borgia's final years, in the company of a young diplomat named Niccolò Machiavelli.
It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics. What Machiavelli learns will go on to inform his great work of modern politics, The Prince. But while the pope rails against old age and his son's increasingly erratic behavior, it is Lucrezia who must navigate the treacherous court of Urbino, her new home, and another challenging marriage to create her own place in history.
Sarah Dunant again employs her remarkable gifts as a storyteller to bring to life the passionate men and women of the Borgia family as well as the ever-compelling figure of Machiavelli, through whom the listener will experience one of the most fascinating - and doomed - dynasties of all time.
©2017 Sarah Dunant (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear. When novitiate nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and flee her Dominican order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London.
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Torture
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Equal of the Sun
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Iran in 1576 is a place of peace, wealth, and dazzling beauty. But when the Shah dies without having named an heir, the court is thrown into tumult. Princess Pari, the Shah's daughter and closest adviser, knows more about the inner workings of the state than almost anyone, but the princess's maneuvers to instill order after her father's sudden death incite resentment and dissent. Pari and her trusted servant, a eunuch able to navigate the harem as well as the world beyond the palace walls, are in possession of an incredible tapestry....
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A Woman in a Man's World
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The Serpent Garden
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
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Susanna Dallet is the daughter of a Flemish painter and wife to a philandering husband, living in the court of Henry VIII. When her husband is murdered, Susanna is suddenly left with a household to provide for and nothing to her name. Her days of anonymity are over when Susanna finds that guild rules preventing women from working do not apply at the king’s court, and she manages to secure a position as a miniature-portrait painter. Before long, she has not only made a name for herself, she is close to those who surround Princess Mary. But even in this lofty company, Susanna is not safe....
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DON'T FALL FOR THE PRINT VERSION AMAZON REVIEWS
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Just seventeen years old, Henry IX, known as William, is a king bound by the restraints of the regency yet anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics sowing the seeds of rebellion at home, William trusts only three people: his older sister Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by William’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
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Great idea, bad story
- By S. D. Ristick on 09-22-14
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In this brilliantly imagined novel, acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power. From the fairy-tale chateaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, this is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.
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Pretty good but historical details are terrible
- By Kindle Customer on 07-10-11
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Joan of Kent, renowned beauty and cousin to King Edward III, is destined for a politically strategic marriage. As the king begins a long dynastic struggle to claim the crown of France, plunging England into the Hundred Years' War, he negotiates her betrothal to a potential ally and heir of a powerful lordship. But Joan, haunted by nightmares of her father's execution at the hands of her treacherous royal kin, fears the king's selection and is not resigned to her fate. She secretly pledges herself to one of the king's own knights, one who has become a trusted friend...
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GOOD HISTORICAL FICTION - FOR A CHANGE
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“No one believed I was destined for greatness.” So begins Isabella’s story, in this evocative, vividly imagined novel about one of history’s most famous and controversial queens - the warrior who united a fractured country, the champion of the faith whose reign gave rise to the Inquisition, and the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a new world. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner envisages the turbulent early years of a woman whose mythic rise to power would go on to transform a monarchy, a nation, and the world.
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Excellent historical fiction!
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The Family
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Mario Puzo first answered the question 'What is a family?' with the creation of the Corleones in his landmark best seller The Godfather. Now, 30 years later, Puzo enriches us all with his ultimate vision of the subject: the story of the greatest crime family in Italian history, the Borgias.
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Outstanding look at the Papacy
- By Gary on 11-12-08
By: Mario Puzo, and others
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Push Not the River
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Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known.
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Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
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Hand of Isis
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Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
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Reader does not know how to pronounce words
- By Gail N. on 07-31-19
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Antoinette's Sister
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As Marie Antoinette took her last breath as queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch - Antoinette’s dearly beloved sister, Charlotte - was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did Charlotte know, however, that her sister’s execution would change the course of history - and bring about the end of her own empire.
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Started off good, but I lost interest as time went
- By Tess of the D'urbervilles on 02-02-22
By: Diana Giovinazzo
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What listeners say about In the Name of the Family
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Minnie
- 11-22-22
fine for a sequel
blood and beauty was great, this one was fine if you enjoyed the first one!
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- Holly H
- 05-25-21
For Fans of the Borgias
Another deep dive into the Italian Renaissance for Sarah Dunant though it reads more like history than the wonderfully imaginative worlds of the author's original Renaissance novels.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-23-18
Great Palace Intrigue
Really well written, with fantastic imagery and wonderful detail. Treacherous, duplicitous behavior by those high & holy - some things seem to never change, but was flagrantly vicious & violent in the Renaissance. I suggest first reading "Leonardo: The First Scientist" by Michael White ....great historical background accompaniment to this. Highly recommend both audiobooks!
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- emmygar
- 05-24-18
Great Retelling of the Borgia's Story
I am always wary of reading books about Italy's most notorious Renaissance family. Although I find their story captivating, I feel like more times than not, historical fiction about them relies heavily on rumors (such as Lucrezia having affairs with her brother/father/both of them) when it isn't necessary. This book (and its predecessor, Blood and Beauty) were fantastic because they did not fall into this trope in order to tell the story. The Borgia's come alive with all of their bloody vengeance and hot tempered arrogance. I was especially interested in the parts regarding how Alexander began feeling wary of Cesare as his son's power grew and he stopped listening to his father. All of the Borgia's get to have their say in this book, and I feel that Sarah Dunant has a talent for bringing a balance to their characters so that we are able to see their motives and their positive attributes (or at least understand why they may have acted as they did. She is masterful at writing about Alexander and Cesare's chip on their shoulder regarding how they were never accepted by the Italians in Rome). I highly recommend both of her Borgia novels. I couldn't stop listening!
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- Aubrey Wynne
- 06-28-18
Wonderful narration and good story.
This is another side of the Borgias. I loved the narration by Nicholas Boulton and he really brought the story to life. There were some modern terms I heard in the story, and at times it flipped around a bit too much, putting us in so many characters heads. But it was well written, entertaining, and ended well. I thought the author might go into Juan's role a bit more but they really only spoke of his death. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in the Borgias and papal history.
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- Colette DeFalco
- 03-11-18
loved it
wonderful story enjoyed every minute of it very well read. narrated well will read again
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- Sonja
- 03-31-17
What A Well Told Story!
Sarah does a wonderful job telling this story. She captures Lucrezia Borgia especially well.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Susan L. Stevens
- 02-08-19
Nicholas Boulton rocks!
Love this well-researched depiction of the Borgi family. Wish the scope were larger but this story is very dramatic. The narrator Boulton is masterful in portrayal of the characters.
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1 person found this helpful
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- BVerité
- 12-28-18
Wow!! Blown away by this one...
Incredibly well-written historical fiction. I’ve read and watched so much about the Borgias that I was a bit tired of the subject. I’m so thankful to those who wrote reviews of this book! It’s truly exceptional story telling! I will definitely listen to the rest of Sarah Durant’s books.
The narrator is excellent, though at first his character accents put me off. After 30 mins, I was loving it. It will grow on you.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Lorraine L. Miller
- 02-21-19
Loved this book!
Like the author, I love history! This book is filled with historical information, plots and intrigue. The narrator is great. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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