Exclusive interview with author Sara Poole and a review of her new novel about the Borgias
Rating: Three Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“Aside from being asked how to dispatch unwanted husbands, the most interesting discovery for me has been how many people identify with the protagonist, Francesca Giordano,” says The Borgia Mistress author Sara Poole. “When the first book in this series, Poison, came out, a woman asked me how to poison her husband. I didn’t tell her. He’s still alive, and they’ve since divorced.”
The Borgia Mistress is the third in the series about the Borgia poisoner Francesca Giordano. The first two books are titled Poison and The Borgia Betrayal. Like the others it is a thriller set in historical times. Giordano is both a professional poisoner and a very troubled young woman suffering from what we would term post-traumatic shock.
Poole paints scenes you can easily visualize. Her characters are well defined. You understand why they’re doing what there doing. The book’s mystery doesn’t get started until later in this story. The story of Francesca’s family history and her personal demons are center stage.
Francesca Giordano is food taster and poisoner for the most Holy Pope Alexander VI also known as Rodrigo Lanzol Borgia. The Borgias have departed Rome due to plague and to escape their enemies. Cesare, one of Borgia’s sons, has been made a cardinal. He’s in charge of keeping the nephew of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella safe. Francesca and Cesare are lovers on occasion and uncover a conspiracy. While thwarting the conspiracy Francesca faces demons from her past.
Poole says the idea of writing the book came about at a family dinner. “At dinner one evening, my family and I were talking about the black bear that had been sighted wandering around our neighborhood,” says Poole. “People were alarmed, taking in their pets, not letting children out, and so on. I commented that they would be every bit as concerned about the plants growing in their backyards if they knew how dangerous they could be. As I had prepared dinner, and my family being possessed of a rather wicked sense of humor, the talk immediately turned to what I might have put in the food. Honestly, we get along a lot better than this sounds. At any rate, two words instantly popped into my head: woman, poisoner. All the rest followed.”
Poole says she read all the primary source material that was available, that most important was Johann Burchard’s chronicle of his experiences serving as Master of Ceremonies to several popes, including Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia. She also found many contemporary studies of the Borgias that were very helpful. “The great challenge for modern historians is to wade through all the anti-Borgia propaganda that began while Rodrigo was still in power and exploded after his death,” says Poole. “History truly is written by the winners, with the result that the Borgias are especially amenable to the novelist’s imagination.”
Thanks to the resources now available on line, Poole was able to view documents previously available only in libraries in Europe and elsewhere. As a result, she was able to do much more research than might otherwise have been possible.
The Borgia Mistress is the third book in the series that began with Poison and continued with The Borgia Betrayal. All three novels feature Francesca Giordano and explore her struggles both internally and in the very dangerous world of the 15th century papacy. “The idea that the mental stresses and disorders that we experience in the modern world aren’t necessarily anything new seems to fascinate people in a way that I hadn’t anticipated,” says Poole.
Poole lives in Connecticut, just north of New York City. She was born in New York City.
The Borgia Mistress by Sara Poole. Paperback, 416 pages, Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; First Edition (May 22, 2012), Language: English, ISBN: 9780312609856 $14.99
[adrotate group=”8″]
