The Serpent and the Pearl

By: Kate Quinn

Narrated by: Leila Birch, Maria Elena Infantino, Ronan Vibert

One powerful family holds a city, a faith, and a woman in its grasp—from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Rome and Mistress of Rome.

Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded only to the most virtuous—or the most ruthless. The Borgia family begins its legendary rise, chronicled by an innocent girl who finds herself drawn into their dangerous web…

Vivacious Giulia Farnese has floor-length golden hair and the world at her feet: beauty, wealth, and a handsome young husband. But she is stunned to discover that her glittering marriage is a sham, and she is to be given as a concubine to the ruthless, charismatic Cardinal Borgia: Spaniard, sensualist, candidate for Pope—and passionately in love with her.

Two trusted companions will follow her into the Pope's shadowy harem: Leonello, a cynical bodyguard bent on bloody revenge against a mysterious killer, and Carmelina, a fiery cook with a past full of secrets. But as corruption thickens in the Vatican and the enemies begin to circle, Giulia and her friends will need all their wits to survive in the world of the Borgias.

Critic reviews

“A masterful storyteller.” —Margaret George


The novels of Kate Quinn are…

“Full of great characters.”—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Epic, sexy.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Deeply passionate.”—Kate Furnivall, New York Times bestselling author

“A riveting plunge into an ancient world.”—C. W. Gortner, author of The Vatican Princess

Nothing Happened til the end

I dont understand the great reviews of this book. it was pleasant enough and the narration from three different narrators and description of the food kept me listening but actually nothing much happens in this book til the end and then they leave you hanging. It wasnt awful as I did finish but not great. Certainly not a best seller. Read The Alice Network by this author a far superior book. couldn't put that one down. As some other reviews have stated the narration of Julia ( not spelled that way) was not a problem for me.

Great story!

What made the experience of listening to The Serpent and the Pearl the most enjoyable?

I loved the change in narrators and enjoyed the pace of the story

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a tie between Carmalena and Lionello...theyre both wonderfully complex and I loved the way they played off of each other.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I thought the performers who were Carmalena and Lionello had great emotion and were easy to listen to. Guilia was a little harder to follow as she spoke very slow, but I still enjoyed it.

Who was the most memorable character of The Serpent and the Pearl and why?

Probably Lionello, as his character was really fun to follow

great story - not so great narration

I found all three narrators jarring to listen to, but not so bad that I didn't get wrapped up in the plot. simply turning the speed to 1.3x helped with the slow narrators, and the strange pauses didn't bother me--it added to the idea that English isn't the primary language. wonderful story, cliff hanger!!!

Great Story

Interesting take on the Borgia's. have lists ed to it more than ten times and will listen to it even more times!

Entertaining. Did not like the ending.

Did not like the narration of Gulia, but the narration.of the other characters was excellent.