Richard S

The Borgia Betrayal is a novel about Francesca, the court poisoner (there really was such a position ) in the court of Pope Rodrigo Borgia, Alexander VI. Despite the rich detail of life in Rome in 1493, the novel never bores; it reads like a thriller, not a text book. The characters are interesting and believable and most readers will gain a new perspective on the famous Borgias and the papacy. There are many loose ends, probably because the author intends to address them in her next book.

This novel is most of all a story for Anglophiles. Set between two world wars, it includes most of the elements associated with popular perceptions of Great Britain: like titles of nobility; tea, lots of tea; Oxbridge; cockney rhyming slang; rigid class differences; the whole gamut of things Americans associate with the Brits. Nothing could be more British than the protagonist, Maisie Dobbs who is herself a symptom of changing times in England.
All of this forms the framework for a carefully structured story about possible espionage and the murder of a famed College dean . There are serious issues and important topics discussed, but the focus is on the remarkable Miss Dobbs and the nation as envisaged by author Jacqueline Winspear. Readers should not expect realism, but should enjoy following Maisie as she leads them through the changing times with a cast of interesting characters.