'The Pope's Daughter' review: Dario Fo's novel defends the Borgia clan - Washington Post
Spanish interlopers at the height of the Italian Renaissance — the “original crime family,” as the popular Showtime series describes them — inspired works by Dumas, Victor Hugo and Rafael Sabatini, among others. An alleged poisoner of husbands said to have conducted incestuous affairs with father and brother both, Lucrezia had a dubious reputation as early as the 17th century in John Ford’s tragedy “’Tis Pity She’s a Whore. According to the new novel by Nobel laureate Dario Fo, however, this is nothing but “creative embroidery in the fine art of scandalmongering. ” Making his novel debut at the lively age of 89, Fo’s “The Pope’s Daughter” offers a studied reconsideration of Lucrezia’s life, swerving dramatically from accounts of her as “a monster, a poisoner, and a prostitute. [ Why did the U. S. deny visas to Dario Fo and his wife in 1983. ]. The Borgia’s political machinations provide an undoubtedly grotesque spectacle, a fine subject for the dell’arte all’improvviso, which has long been a creative touchstone of Fo’s. A controversial choice for the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Italian has been called the “people’s court jester,” taking his cues, as an actor, playwright, comedian and director from the tradition of the Italian giullare, an itinerant... Source: www.washingtonpost.com
