The Marriage Portrait - June 2023

[Kristie, Moderator]

Voted by members for Historical Fiction Additional Read



The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de’ Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court.

Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.

Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?

As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.

Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.

[Jane]

Book looks interesting - hope to start reading in the next couple of days

[Jenna]

I thought this book was incredibly well done. it's definitely slow in places and not a fast read but I thought it was very atmospheric and transported me to another time and place. You're told from the beginning that things aren't going to turn out well for Lucrezia but the author does such a good job balancing dread and hope throughout the story.

I'm definitely a fan of Maggie O'Farrell now and will definitely be reading more from her.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I recently read Hamnet by this author. I really did not want to read it because it didn't sound interesting to me at all. A couple of my online book clubs read it and I skipped it. Then, my face-to-face book club chose it, so I broke down and decided to read it. I expected to get part way in, hate it, and dnf. (I know terrible attitude to go into a book with!) However, I ended up really enjoying it and looking forward to seeing what O'Farrell wrote next. Well, this is what she wrote and I'm looking forward to reading it. :)

[D.]

I just finished The Marriage Portrait. I thought the marriage portrait was less about the portrait of Lucretia and more about her husband and his different personalities. I also thought it was interesting how families dealt with daughters who were unhappy, as they should make the best of it. Sometimes a slow read but very descriptive of times past!

[Kristie, Moderator]

Cammy, I had to delete your comment due to spoilers, but I copied and pasted it below with a spoiler tag.

Cammy wrote:

"I found this story engaging and even though you know her story and how it ends, we get to read from the beginning and through the stages of her life. (view spoiler)[ I know she dies, but reading the author’s final chapters allows me to have doubts that maybe she escaped and found freedom. (hide spoiler)]"

[Kirsten]

I finished this at the end of December and just loved it. It is so engrossing and thrilling and tragic. Would make a great opera/movie!