The Marriage Portrait

By: Maggie O'Farrell

Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt

The woman in the portrait is perfect. So why does she feel so terrified, so alone?

Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, 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 to accept on her behalf.

Having barely left girlhood, Lucrezia must now make her way in a troubled court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appears 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 uncomfortable finery for the painting that is 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 Ferrarese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, her future hangs entirely in the balance.

©2022 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Intriguing

The way the story is composed! Intricately woven past and present. Beautiful story, well told.

Another great book by this author

Satisfyingly well written
This is an atmospheric and believable story. Occasionally I found the jumping back and forth in time confusing, kept me on my toes!

The storyline

There is nothing in particular that I did not like. I wiil recommend this to my lady friends.

didn't finish it

i simpli did not engage with this book. reminds me of semi young adult books, like the madeline miller books about greek mythology, trying to create empathy with an historic female figure. boring

Waste of a credit

Very disappointed by this book, one of the worst I read recently. Tte reader is very good but even she sort of gives up in the end…