The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist
Genre: Historical/Literary Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is the Book About?: In a Florentine gallery, there still hangs a small but intense oil painting of a young girl, the duchess Lucrezia de’Medici, painted by Bronzino in the 1550s… Lucrezia enjoys a sheltered childhood within the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio, but when she is 15, Lucrezia’s sister Maria dies suddenly, and Lucrezia is married off to the broody Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, in her sister’s stead. Lucrezia is a free spirit ensnared in a web of palatial politics and power, and within a year, the young duchess is also dead – perhaps murdered by her duke. The mystery surrounding her death during the heart of the Italian Renaissance is said to be the inspiration for Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess,” and Maggie O’Farrell’s novel breathes new life into the mythology of her fate.
My Review: For me, this is peak historical fiction. Maybe I just encountered it at precisely the right time, but O’Farrell’s writing is so luxurious and intimate, full of fierce emotion and fascinating minutiae. Maybe it was partially due to the audiobook narrator’s (Genevieve Gaunt) voice, but listening to this story put a serious spell on me. The author deftly adds layers of life, mystery, and a twist ending to the few basic facts actually known of Lucrezia, and the use of the portrait and painting (and hints of the underpainting) as the vehicle for the story is masterful. The depth of O’Farrell’s imagination is breathtaking, and pulling out of the story, you can’t help but wonder if Lucrezia’s reality was more fraught, mundane, or a thousand shades in between. I loved it so much, I immediately had to read Hamnet, which has been on my list but never a priority. Hamnet is equally lush and magical, the astonishing story of Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes, and family (he himself is never named), but the death of a child makes it much heavier reading. Both novels are highly recommended.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Vivid, Alluring, Compelling
Give This a Try if You Like… Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Matrix by Lauren Groff, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Rating: 5/5
