VATICAN PRINCESS

Glamorous and predatory, the Borgias are the first Italian crime family, whose meteoric rise to power electrified and terrorized their 15th century world. To this day, Borgia's daughter, beautiful Lucrezia, is known as one of history's most notorious women, an incestuous seductress who lured men to their doom. In his new novel, acclaimed author C.W. Gortner delves beyond the lurid legend to reveal Lucrezia in her own voice, uncovering the dramatic tale of a young woman who fought to overcome her destiny in an era of dazzling splendor and savage intrigue. It is 1492 and thirteen-year old Lucrezia celebrates the accession of her father as Pope Alexander VI. A precocious girl who has the world at her feet, Lucrezia is adored by her magnetic father and brooding elder brother, Cesare, while her glamorous, brutish brother, Juan, vies in vain for her affection. Impulsive and indulged, Lucrezia basks in luxury in the palazzo she shares with her father's mistress, where not even word of her arranged marriage to Giovanni Sforza can unsettle her confidence, for she believes as long as she has la famiglia at her side, nothing—and no one—can harm her. But the sudden invasion of Italy shatters Lucrezia's illusions. Suddenly, her family is at bay, stalked by foes eager to bring about the Borgias' downfall. In order to safeguard her, Lucrezia is sent to her husband's city-state, where she experiences unexpected brutality at his hands. Trapped in a marriage of hatred while still in her teens, she unleashes a cunning tenacity she did not know she possessed, even as she discovers a forbidden passion that she fears will be her undoing. Fleeing her marriage to reunite with her family in Rome, Lucrezia embarks on a perilous journey into womanhood, torn between the possessive ardor of her brothers and enigmatic promise of a Neapolitan prince. It is a journey that will plunge her into a terrifying maze of unspeakable treachery, violence, and heartbreaking loss, until she finds herself face-to-face with a choice that could demand the sacrifice of everything she once loved, if she is to survive. C.W. GORTNER is the author of Mademoiselle Chanel (forthcoming from William Morrow in March 2015), as well as the other acclaimed historicals The Last Queen (Ballantine 2008), The Confessions of Catherine de Medici (2010), and The Queen's Vow (2012). He also writes The Spymaster Chronicles, a historical thriller series including The Tudor Secret (St. Martin's 2011), The Tudor Conspiracy (2013), and The Tudor Vendetta (2014). He was recently named one of the top ten historical novelists by The Washington Independent Review of Books.