While, throughout her life, her family used her as a political pawn, she was determined to create her own destiny, and that’s the theme that runs through The Tigress of Forli.

The answer: for what they covered, it was pretty good.Ĭaterina Sforza was a strong, independent woman in a time where women were rarely strong and independent (sort of like The Widow Clicquot, I must have a thing for ladies-before-their-time). I was looking forward to reading her biography to see how the writing of her character stacked up. She was portrayed as the enemy (the show focuses on the Borgias, after all), but also with sympathy. She was strong and passionate, but to a fault. Gina McKee played Caterine Sforza on the Showtime series, and I fell in love with her character. So when I saw that there was a biography about Caterina Sforza, I didn’t hesitate to download Elizabeth Lev’s The Tigress of Forli. Ever since I finished Showtime’s The Borgias, I’m on a major Sforza kick. I know they must, sooner or later, but I’m impatient. I’m watching Tom Fontana’s series Borgia: Faith and Fear, and can’t help but wish they’d get around to the Sforza family.

Anyone interested in the Italian Renaissance and fierce historical women shouldn't be disappointed. It wasn't stuffy at all, and the pages just flew by. This biography of the great Caterina Sforza was, as I said, very readable. She contracted pneumonia and died at the age of 46. And after a tumultuous life, including being imprisoned, Caterina was able to have some peace with her children and experimenting with her hobby of alchemy. I admire how Caterina often stuck to her guns, even with a couple of ungrateful children, and then having the Borgias breathing down her neck – it was around this time that she gained the nickname Il Tigre. She did this in order to guarantee safety and security to her family. In 1484, while seven months pregnant, Caterina occupied the fortress of Castel Sant'Angelo after Pope Sixtus IV (her husband's uncle) died. She was married three times and gave birth to nine children. I could be here all day telling you all the amazing – and sometimes ruthless – things Caterina did. As was usual of illegitimate children of the time, Caterina grew up in her father's home, raised by her stepmother Bona of Savoy. A readable biography about a truly fascinating woman.Ĭaterina Sforza was the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan and Lucrezia Landriani.

Tigress Of Forli by Elizabeth Lev