City of God: A Novel of the Borgias | |
Author: | Cecelia Holland |
Country: | United States |
Language: | English |
Genre: | Historical fiction |
Published: | 1979 |
Publisher: | Alfred A. Knopf |
Media Type: | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
Pages: | 273 |
Isbn: | 0-394-41277-X |
Oclc: | 3845422 |
City of God: A Novel of the Borgias is a 1979 historical novel by Cecelia Holland. Set in 15th-century Rome during the Borgia period, it follows Nicholas Dawson, ambitious secretary to the Florentine ambassador, as he becomes embroiled in dangerous political intrigue.[1] [2]
Nicholas Dawson is the secretary to the ambassador of Florence in Rome; clever and ambitious, he is homosexual and a highly educated commoner born in Spain to English parents. Soon Nicholas is enlisted as a double agent for the ruthless Cesare Borgia, and his contact in Florence is none other than Niccolò Machiavelli himself.[1]
David Maclaine called City of God a "gripping" novel of "slowly mounting tension leading to an intense pay-off. It is a brilliant introduction to the people and events that gave us the word 'Machiavellian.'"[1] According to Library Review, "Holland attributes to Nicholas a keenly analytical mind, a self-serving nature, and a penchant for other men, facets which blend well with her representation of this unsettled time."[3]