City of God (Holland novel)
City of God: A Novel of the Borgias is a 1979 historical novel by Cecelia Holland. Set in 15th-century Rome during the Borgia period, it follows Nicholas Dawson, ambitious secretary to the Florentine ambassador, as he becomes embroiled in dangerous political intrigue. Plot. Nicholas Dawson is the secretary to the ambassador of Florence in Rome; clever and ambitious, he is homosexual and a highly educated commoner born in Spain to English parents. Soon Nicholas is enlisted as a double agent for the ruthless Cesare Borgia, and his contact in Florence is none other than  Niccolò Machiavelli himself. Critical reception. David Maclaine called "City of God" a "gripping" novel of "slowly mounting tension leading to an intense pay-off. It is a brilliant introduction to the people and events that gave us the word 'Machiavellian.'" According to "Library Review", "Holland attributes to Nicholas a keenly analytical mind, a self-serving nature, and a penchant for other men, facets which blend well with her representation of this unsettled time."