The Pope's Daughter

Description

Lucrezia Borgia is one of the most vilified figures in modern history. Daughter of the notorious pope, she was twice betrothed before the age of 11 and thrice married, and according to rumours had several lovers, including perhaps her own brother and father. Painted by turns as murderous, incestuous femme fatale, or as victim and plaything in the hand of her ruthless relatives, the real Lucrezia was probably none of these. In The Pope's Daughter, Fo reveals her humanity and passion for life as well as her dark side, showing her as a modern woman for her time.

Dario Foais an actor, playwright, comedian, director, songwriter and political campaigner. His first one-act play was produced in 1958 and since then he has written, directed and acted in over forty plays and theatrical productions. In 1997 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. In the words of the Nobel Prize committee- oHe if anyone merits the epithet of jester in the true meaning of that word. With a blend of laughter and gravity he opens our eyes to abuses and injustices in society and also the wider historical perspective in which they can be placed.o The Pope's Daughter is his first novel.

The Pope's Daughter, the story of Lucrezia Borgia as a living, feeling woman rather than just another bodice waiting to be ripped, stands as an evident tribute both to its much maligned heroine...in all her beauty and fiery dignity. --The New York Times "Lucrezia Borgia enthralls Fo, and he signals his enthusiasm with arch, knowing humor directed at the reader... Fo's Lucrezia more femme fatale than incestuous poisoner." --Kirkus Reviews "[. . .] not quite like any of the other thousand books written on Lucrezia Borgia: a deeply felt three-dimensional portrait that replaces flamboyant rumors with fallible, admirable humanity." --The Christian Science Monitor In imagining hilarious and scandalous interactions and snappy dialogue, Dario Fo brings the infamous Lucrezia Borgia to life. He removes her from the reduction to mere victim or evil temptress and constructs a compelling and comic tale that ironically comments on all the Borgias' antics (or murderous schemes). --World Literature Today Fo's high-spirited work, [is] a novel that comes close to a romp. --Barnes & Noble Review The Pope's Daughter offers a studied reconsideration of Lucrezia's life, swerving dramatically from accounts of her as 'a monster, a poisoner, and a prostitute.' --Washington Post The Pope's Daughter is sophisticated, clever, challenging [. . .]- everything we have come to expect from a Nobel Laureate and in a first novel. --Book Sexy Review Fo is a kind of medieval jester, and here he entertainingly describes the many virtues of that grand dame of the Renaissance, Lucrezia Borgia. --El Pais (Spain) In this novel, Fo reveals Lucrezia's humanity, thus liberating her from the stereotypes of wanton, incestuous woman and placing her into proper historical context and into her day-to-day life. --The Huffington Post (Italy) Dario Fo takes the image that has been sent down to us all the way from John Ford's Tis a Pity She's a Whore through Victor Hugo's play Lucrezia Borgia to a slew of the recent popular biographies and turns it inside out. --La Repubblica (Italy)