Book Blurb:
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell 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 to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Moderna and Regio, 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 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 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.
My Review: 4.5 stars
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell was a stunning work of historical fiction featuring a real life authentic person, Lucrezia di Cosimo de’Medici. Not much is known about this woman, yet she was featured in a Robert Browning poem, My Last Duchess. O’Farrell chose to tackle Lucrezia’s history through this fictionalized account that takes place in the mid 1500s.
Interestingly, the title is a double entendre. It could mean that this book is an insider’s look into a marriage or the physical marriage portrait painted for members of royalty. In this case, both meanings are true. It was a clever title as its meanings are portrayed in the storyline. Plus, there’s an homage to the tiger scene with the orange stripes. Maybe I’m fishing, but it’s how I saw the cover.
O’Farrell is an artistic and skilled wordsmith. Her descriptors brought the book to life. As I listened to this, a literal movie played in my head. Her drawings, her tantrums as a child, her saving a life… all of it became so visually real for me.
Lucrezia, married off at a young age, immediately sensed that her husband wanted to kill her. Her keen recognition of that set the story rolling and allowed this historical novel to also become a mystery. Why did he want to kill her? Would he have wanted to kill her sister, his original choice for a bride? There was so much to unpack in this gem. I dare say any more as this book deserves nothing but more eyes reading it.
Highly recommend this book for all fans of historical literary fiction.
Quotes I liked:
Sadness keeps attempting to tie weights to her wrists and ankles, therefore she has to keep moving, she has to outpace it.”
“She has always had a secret liking for this part of the embroidery, the ‘wrong’ side, congested with knots, striations of silk and twists of thread. How much more interesting it is, with its frank display of the labour needed to attain the perfection of the finished piece.”
“You need a plan,” she hears—or seems to hear—her old nurse, Sofia, say, from a place near her elbow. “To lose your temper is to lose the battle.”
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