I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Samantha Morris, author of Cesare Borgia in a Nutshell at the Evening with the Authors event in London recently and her enthusiasm for the Borgia family is infectious. I know they're not Tudor, but they're fascinating and are another family that is surrounded by myth and controversy, and that has larger than life characters.

Thank you to Samantha for joining us today with this short biography of Cesare in celebration of the recent release of her book.

Born at some point between 1475 and 1476, Cesare Borgia was the son of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia and Vanozza Cattanei. It was only after Rodrigo's ascension to the Papacy that Cesare and his siblings were formally recognised as his children. Cesare was brought up in the church, eventually becoming a Cardinal – a career that he did not want. He believed he was meant to be a soldier, and that he was meant to follow the career that had been laid out for his brother Juan.
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