Review: Blood & Beauty by Sarah Dunant

Reviewed in today’s Times, this is a great literary blockbuster all about the Borgia family (about whom I freely admit I knew pretty much nothing). They’re not a very nice family! But this makes them great to read about. There’s a Wolf Hall feel (lots of interior monologues, lots of psycho-analysing the characters) but Dunant doesn’t bash you over the head with her research, she just lets her imagination run riot. Hugely enjoyable — but trails off slightly at the end in readiness for the sequel which is coming up soon. A great read for fans of historical fiction who, without being able to quite articulate why, were not crazy about Wolf Hall. I consider myself in this esteemed group.