There is a great deal of detail in this book, and a large number of Italian men, get pocket biographies as well. In the main we do follow the life of an illegitimate daughter of a most political pope, her struggles with the quest for a husband who would involve himself in her life, and, of course her struggle when she is the head of state in Ferrera, with her sister in law, Isabella del este, a woman with large insecurities, and more political smarts than Lucrezia. The book has a problem, in that there is no directly titled portrait of Lucrezia, and holding her image in the readers' head is more difficult than one might think. We must make do with a possible rendering as a detail in a fresco by Pinturicchio "the Disputation of Saint Catherine, found in the Borgia apartments in the Vactican. the dust jacket has the largest detail, and in colour. Into the bargain Lucrezia seldom gets to dictate policy, and her life was far more dedicated to surviving the machinations of others than in enjoying what small powers she gained. It is an engrossing read, however. and the prose is clear and precise. I'm sorry the book does not seem to have ascended to reprint territory. ( )