Sarah Dunant

A tale inspired by the lives of Borgia siblings Lucretia and Cesare traces the family's rise in the aftermath of Rodrigo Borgia's rise to the papacy, during which war, a terrifying sexual plague and the family's notorious reputation forge an intimate bond between brother and sister. By the best-selling author of The Birth of Venus.

The Borgias : a Novel

Blood & Beauty

In the Name of the Family - as Blood and Beauty did before - holds up a mirror to a turbulent moment of history, sweeping aside the myths to bring alive the real Borgia family; complicated, brutal, passionate and glorious. Here is a thrilling exploration of the House of Borgia's doomed years, in the company of a young diplomat named Niccolo Machiavelli. It is 1502 and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womaniser and master of political corruption is now on the Papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, aged twenty-two, already thrice married and a pawn in her father's plans, is discovering her own power. And then there is Cesare Borgia: brilliant, ruthless and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with the diplomat Machiavelli which offers a master class on 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 increasing maverick behavior it is Lucrezia who will become the Borgia survivor: taking on her enemies and creating her own place in history. Conjuring up the past in all its complexity, horror and pleasures, In The Name of the Family confirms Sarah Dunant's place as the leading novelist of the Renaissance and one of the most acclaimed historical fiction writers of our age.

In the Name of the Family

Alessandra is not quite fifteen when her prosperous merchant father brings a young painter back with him from Holland to adorn the walls of the new family chapel. She is fascinated by his talents and envious of his abilities and opportunities to paint to the glory of God. Soon her love of art and her lively independence are luring her into closer involvement with all sorts of taboo areas of life. On excursions into the streets of night-time Florence she observes a terrible evil stalking the city and witnesses the rise of the fiery young priest, Savanarola, who has set out to rid the city of vice, richness, even art itself. Alessandra must make crucial decisions about the shape of her adult life, as Florence itself must choose between the old ways of the luxury-loving Medicis and the asceticism of Savanorola. And through it all, there is the painter, whose love will change everything.

The Birth of Venus

After a nasty breakup with her boyfriend Tom, Lizzie Skorvecky, alone in her London home, plunges into her work of translating a Czech detective novel into English, only to have the violence and brutality of the novel appear in her own life. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

Transgressions

Anna, a self-sufficient, thirtysomething, single mother, heads for Italy for a short vacation, possibly with a new lover, leaving her beloved young daughter behind with friends, but when Anna does not return from her holiday, a heated and chilling debate erupts over reasons for her disappearance. By the author of Transgressions. Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

A Novel

Mapping the Edge

The Birth Of Venus

1570 in the Italian city of Ferrara. Sixteen-year-old Serafina is fipped by her family from an illicit love affair and forced into the convent of Santa Caterina, renowned for its superb music. Serafina's one weapon is her glorious voice, but she refuses to sing. Madonna Chiara, an abbess as fluent in politics as she is in prayer, finds her new charge has unleased a power play - rebellion, ecstasies and hysterias - within the convent. However, watching over Serafina is Zuana, the sister in charge of the infirmary, who understands and might even challenge her incarceration.

Sacred Hearts

Psychological thriller about a woman being preyed upon by a stalker - a dark, cumbersome, large woman of limited capability.

1570 in the Italian city of Ferrara, and the convent of Santa Caterina is filled with noble women who are married to Christ because many cannot find husbands outside. Enter sixteen-year-old Serafina, ripped by her family from an illicit love affair, howling with rage and hormones and determined to escape. While on the other side of the great walls, counter-reformation forces in the Church are pushing for change, inside, Serafina's spirit and defiance ignite a fire that threatens to engulf the whole convent. SACRED HEARTS is a novel about power, creativity and passion - both of the body and of the soul. Hidden history brought alive by a wonderful storyteller, renowned for her Italian Renaissance novels.

As Marla tries to free her friend from the dual addictions of love and cocaine, she unravels a story of seduction and power in Colombia and of desire and betrayal in California.

Snowstorms in a Hot Climate

La nascita di Venere

Birth of Venus B Waterstones Editio

i Borgia

Sangue e onore

La cortigiana

A decade before her dazzling breakthrough novel, "The Birth of Venus, " author Sarah Dunant won Britain's prestigious Silver Dagger award for "Fatlands, " a Hannah Wolfe mystery. In "Fatlands, " private investigator Hannah Wolfe, who's independent though not invincible, idealistic but definitely not naive, has taken on one of the less glamorous jobs in the security world -- chaperoning teenage rebel Mattie Shepherd around London. But Mattie's father is paying Hannah lots of money -- more than the job is worth, it seems. Or perhaps not. The girl's father is on the Animal Liberation Front's hit list. But why? When violence explodes, tearing the family apart, this is what Hannah must discover. Her obsession with the truth nearly kills her, wrecking her private life and dragging her into a vortex of lies and betrayal.

Fatlands

Before the Corleones, before the Lannisters, there were the Borgias. One of history’s notorious families comes to life in a captivating novel from the author of The Birth of Venus. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN (UK) AND THE TIMES (UK) “In the end, what’s a historical novelist’s obligation to the dead? Accuracy? Empathy? Justice? Or is it only to make them live again? Dunant pays these debts with a passion that makes me want to go straight out and read all her other books.”—Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post Bestselling 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, aged twenty-two—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 reader will experience one of the most fascinating—and doomed—dynasties of all time. “Enthralling . . . combines flawless historical scholarship with beguiling storytelling.”—The Guardian “Renaissance-rich details fill out the humanity of the Borgias, rendering them into the kind of relatable figures whom we would hope to discover behind the cold brilliance of The Prince.”—NPR “[Dunant] has an enviable command of this complex political scene, with its shifting alliances and subtle betrayals. . . . [She] has a special gift for attending to her female characters.”—The New York Times

«Gli splendidi palazzi e le viuzze della Venezia del Rinascimento, dove ecclesiastici e prostitute si ritrovano insieme nell’opulenza e nelle restrizioni». New Yorker «Bellezza e brutalità nell’eccitante ritratto di un’epoca». Sunday Telegraph «Non vi è guida migliore di Sarah Dunant al Rinascimento italiano. Un romanzo avvincente che dona al lettore un piacere incomparabile». Daily Mail «La padronanza, il ritmo e l’istinto della Dunant sono impeccabili». The Financial Times

Italië 1570. Na een verboden liefdesrelatie wordt de zestienjarige Serafina door haar familie in het klooster van Santa Caterina in Ferrara ondergebracht. Met haar intrede komt de stabiliteit in de gemeenschap van vrome zusters en zelfkastijdende nonnen in gevaar, want het meisje is vaastbesloten te ontsnappen. Terwijl de Kerk door de Contrareformatie tot verandering wordt gedwongen, ontsteekt Serafina's fanatieke verzet binnen de kloostermuren een vuur dat razendsnel om zich heen grijpt en de hele gemeenschap dreigt te verzengen.

In ongenade

Roman

Mit Haut und Haaren

Roy Porter

As we come to the end of the 20th century, the idea that the future equals progress has sustained a philosophic body blow from which it will not easily recover. As technology expands our choices, it also serves to diminish our sense of control. Mix that with the insecurity of global economics, the threat of family breakdown, increased fear of crime and violence and you have a population which finds it difficult to handle today, let alone contemplate tomorrow. But how justifiable is our anxiety? And how do we stop ourselves being frightened of the millennium? Sarah Dunant and Roy Porter ask 10 prominent thinkers and writers to assess the general malaise that is settling over us. Not all the essayists are optimistic about life beyond the millennium, but they all think the world is a place worth fighting for. Thought-provoking yet accessible, THE AGE OF ANXIETY is an important book for our times.

Sarah Dunant

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