Fictional account of the life of Lucrezia d’Medici, who grew up in Florence in the 16th century and married Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrera.

I bought it, I read it, I loved it....... and was charmed by Maggie O' Farrell's descriptive and vivid portrait of a woman attempting to free herself from the role created for her in life.

I have loved some (not all) of Maggie O' Farrell's novels. Among my favourites were [b:The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox|817670|The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331484986l/817670._SY75_.jpg|3050927] and [b:I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death|35137915|I Am, I Am, I Am Seventeen Brushes with Death|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517352695l/35137915._SY75_.jpg|55835303] and her last book [b:Hamnet|43890641|Hamnet|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574943819l/43890641._SY75_.jpg|68289933]
[b:The Marriage Portrait|60353768|The Marriage Portrait|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655741851l/60353768._SX50_.jpg|95173614]is a beautifully drawn historical fiction story where fact and fiction blends seamlessly together. I loved the sense of time and place and Florence of the 1550s.

Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, she has a free spirit to her, 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. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will ensure 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.

I really enjoyed this novel, it engaged me from the very first page, I was rooting for Lucrezia and harsh times that she was born into, where men ruled the world and women had to accept the fate of arranged marriage and their lives to be dictated to them by men.

Lucrezia is a memorable character and I enjoyed reading about the Medici family. There is a wonderful sense of time and place in this novel and I just loved how the author reimagines Lucrezia's life to bring us this beautiful novel.

The perfect Autumn read to curl up with by the fire. ( )

No puedo evitar comparar El Retrato de Casada con Hamnet. Desde el punto de vista literario (narrativa, estructura y estilo) ambos libros son muy similares y de la misma calidad. La gran diferencia está en sus protagonistas: mientras que Agnes es apasionante e intrigante (al punto que terminé enamorado de ella), Lucrezia es aburrida, monótona, lo que convierte la novela en una historia muy bien escrita pero simplona, que me aburrió en varios momentos. ( )

I should have read [b:The Marriage Portrait|60353768|The Marriage Portrait|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655741851l/60353768._SX50_.jpg|95173614] on my epic train journey rather than [b:The Snail on the Slope|1535134|The Snail on the Slope|Boris Natanovich Strugatskii|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390080563l/1535134._SY75_.jpg|1527250] and [b:The Morville Hours|3278582|The Morville Hours|Katherine Swift|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394313576l/3278582._SY75_.jpg|3314880]. I was expecting it to be a dense and challenging historical novel, but it read to me like YA fiction. My baseline for historical fiction was set by [a:Hilary Mantel|58851|Hilary Mantel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1582036110p2/58851.jpg], which is a tough act for other authors to follow! I found [b:The Marriage Portrait|60353768|The Marriage Portrait|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655741851l/60353768._SX50_.jpg|95173614] an engaging read without really feeling transported to the historical time (1561) and place (Italy). The plot follows Lucrezia di Medici from her early years to the age of 16, by which time she's been married off to the Duke of Ferrara and he's trying to kill her. The chapters alternate her struggles in 1561 with flashbacks to how she got there. My favourite scene was the atmospheric moment when Lucrezia met a tiger as a child. Indeed, I found her upbringing at the Medici palazzo more interesting than her unfortunate marriage.

The narrative is not subtle, so I knew there would be some kind of twist. I was a bit disappointed by the ending. Lucrezia's maid Emilia, who looks a lot like her, is murdered in her place. It was hard to feel very glad that Lucrezia escaped when she made no attempt to take Emilia with her, nor even contemplated that she was leaving her maid to die. Emilia had just saved her life! I suppose this says something about the gulf between aristocracy and servants. The narrative goes out of its way to show Lucrezia's sympathy for servants in general and Emilia in particular, though. So I found this abrupt and tonally inconsistent. ( )

This historical fiction brings a teenaged Medici daughter, Lucrezia, to life as a strong willed girl whose defiance creates disturbance in the household of her father, Duke of Tuscany, and in the kingdom of her future husband, Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, in 1560. Lucrezia would rather paint than to become skilled at the womanly arts that will make her a typical woman in a royal court, powerless and decorative, married off to strengthen alliances. When her elder sister dies of a fever, Lucrezia is chosen to replace her as the bride of Alfonso, desperate for an heir. He is mercurial and surrounded by loyalists who despise the young Duchess. When Alfonso decides to have Lucrezia's portrait painted, everything shifts as she struggles to regain some agency and to survive the plot against her, as she is barren after a year of marriage. She is a brilliant heroine and the interior of her mind and the exterior riches and rivalries of court life are vividly rendered. ( )

The Marriage Portrait is a historical fiction based on the life of Lucrezia de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany who was married to Alfonso II d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara, at age 16 and two years later was dead. History records her as having died of tuberculosis but rumours abound that she had been poisoned by her husband. Maggie O’Farrell takes the scant information about Lucrezia’s life and creates a character, a captivating setting and draws us into her tale.

The story begins in 1561 with the teenage Lucrezia fearing for her life, that her husband is about to kill her. It then pans back to the story of how she got to this point. Lucrezia grew up as the third daughter in a wealthy family in Florence. Lucrezia has a passion for animals and for art. She shares a secret bond with a captive tiger her father brings to Florence, an essential element of herself represented in the sad and fierce creature. Her life changes dramatically when her older sister dies and Lucrezia is chosen to replace her in her engagement to the Duke.

Alfonso begins the story as an observant and gentlemanly character but soon his ruthless and controlling side becomes apparent. Lucrezia rapidly becomes a caged creature, her worth measured by her ability to produce an heir for a man hitherto unable to produce one. As the tension increased I found myself rooting for the young and underestimated Lucrezia. Despite the difficult subject matter this was an engrossing read. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

Beautiful writing that really brings the setting (place and time) to life. I loved that aspect of it.

I'm a genre reader. This book doesn't do it for me in terms of plot or character. And the ending hit me wrong, and now I'm angry at the whole book. ( )

Definitely my favorite one by the author. ( )

Lucrezia, third daughter Cosimo de' Medici, finds herself betrothed, then married to Alfonso, heir to the Duke of Ferrara when her older sister, his original choice, dies. The story flits between her early life in Florence and her early married life. Underneath, throughout her marriage, her conviction that she will be killed by her apparently loving husband bubbles away. She's a Duchess now, her father-in-law having died. She's only 15, moe than 10 years younger than her husband. Although she's been brought up privileged, her new status brings with it loneliness and challenges. Virtually her only constant friend is her maid.

O'Farrell paints the pictures of her privileged life in such a way that we can hear, see and smell the scenes that surround her: her father's exotic menagerie; her husband's castrati singers; the sumptuous clothing; the simple bowls of fruit which she examines with her painterly eye - she is a talented artist.

This tale is a mixture of fact, of weaving in allusions learnt from Browning's poem My Last Duchess, from myth and fairytale and from gothic horror to create an engaging and highly pictorial story, which goes a long way towards helping us understand what it might have been to be Lucrezia: child, noblewoman, wife. ( )

I read this novel while we were in Florence and so that may have affected how much I enjoyed it. By day I was wandering around the city and then meeting in my head again in the evening. This is set in 16th century Florence and based on the life of a real young woman, although little is known about her. Young Lucrezia, due to the death of her sister, is promised in marriage to Alfonso, a wealthy ruler. The Lucrezia Maggie O'Farrell chooses to show us is an artist, intelligent and energetic. Her parent's do not listen to Lucrezia's objections to the marriage by their difficult daughter. Alfonso is only interested in producing heirs and as Lucrezia's mother had been so productive he thought this would be an equally productive union. Maggie O'Farrell sets up a tense story, moving back and forth in time as Lucrezia sees the two faces of Alfonso, his kindness and his brutality and comes to understand the man she has married. The beauty and art of Renaissance Italy are in these pages, as well as darkness and cruelty. Lucrezia is well-drawn and I was so glad Maggie O'Farrell gave her the ending she did. ( )

I read this book after reading another of Maggie O'Farrell's books, Hamnet, which I absolutely loved. This is another historical fiction based in 16th century Italy and follows Florence, the third daughter of the grand duke who is forced to marry.

This story was eye opening to the treatment of women in Renaissance Italy and the brutality of the elite. I really liked that O'Farrell brings the arts to her novels and uses them as an interweaving thread throughout. This one, as the name suggests, is steeped in portraiture which I found quite interesting. I learned that portraits were secretly painted by teams, with each person specialising in a different aspect and the final portrait being accredited to "the famous artist" who quite often did little of the actual work.

I story is written as a suspense but I found it dragged. There are some good twists though and the writing is beautiful. ( )

Beautifully written. Loved it. Feb 24 ( )

I never expected to not like a book by Magggie O'Farrell. In fact I bought the book blind just by author and title--last time I do that. I found the theme dreary and the narrative way too long. All the detail did not manage to transport me to another time, it just sent me straight to yawns. ( )

Beautifully written imagined life of Lucrezis de Medici, who was married off at 13 and died at 15. Much of the story is written as suspense with Lucrezia portrayed as intelligent, creative, and artistic. She has a strong independent streak despite a terribly sheltered life.

She is married off to Alfonso Ferrara who has recently become a duke and is striving to achieve control of his empire by any means necessary. It is imperative that he produce and heir to protect his position from possible heirs birthed by his sisters. He is duplicitous with a vicious mercurial temper and Lucrezia comes to realize that her life is in danger when she fails to become pregnant.

The story is written as suspense. The portrait is used as a portent of her demise, though the story ends with a twist. ( )

I did enjoy this. It lacks the magic of Hamnet though, and I was disappointed. If somebody else had written it, I'd probably be more thrilled because it is a very good historical novel.

Lucrezia di Medici is the third daughter and least-valued child of Cosimo and his Spanish wife Eleanora. She is also likely the smartest and most talented, the one most determined to go her own way. When she is nine, she is holding a pet mouse when her sister Maria and her fiance Alfonso d'Este walk by. Alfonso looks at her, makes a perfect mouse face, and winks. Her fate is sealed. Maria dies, and four years later Alfonso asks for Lucre in marriage. (Her parents also saw each other once, and were married at his request.) At fifteen she is married and off to Ferrara with only her maid Emilia to help her find her way in her new home.

The action then moves from her marriage in 1560 to her final days as duchess in 1561. She has not gotten pregnant, and Lucre is sure that Alfonso means to kill her.

Everything is present for historical drama, but somehow the action only smoulders without catching fire. In an afterward O'Farrell explains how she borrowed elements of her plot from stories of other members of Lucrezia's family. I did enjoy it, but it isn't magic. ( )

I simply could not put this one down. Thank God we still have Maggie O'Farrell, after losing Hilary Mantel last year. Maybe not for everyone, but this is my style of historical fiction. ( )

I wasn't really in the mood for historical fiction but this one was well paced and juicy with drama. ( )

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. ( )

I knew nothing about this book when I started reading it. The writing was engaging. I looked forward to reading it each time. ( )

A well-written historical novel. It begins in medias res creating the tension that pervades the book and that might be necessary to keep you going through the descriptions of a young noble girl's life in 16th-century Florence.
The ending is satisfying but it's telegraphed and quite artificial. ( )

I wouldn’t have picked this one up if I hadn’t read another of her books (This Must Be the Place), but I’m grateful that I did. I very much enjoy the author’s style and character development. Alternating timelines in a book can annoy me, but it worked in this one and it had me engaged until the end. ( )

The Short of It:

Marriage can be hard, especially when your husband wants you dead.

The Rest of It:

Florence in the 1550s. Marriages are carefully arranged to preserve
status, to guarantee the continuance of the family line, and sometimes, attraction is taken into consideration. But in The Marriage Portrait, young Lucrezia stands in for her sister who passed away right before her wedding. Lucrezia is just a child. Far too young to be married so her nurse manages to delay their joining for a short while, but Lucrezia doesn’t want anything to do with any of it. She just wants to roam her childhood home, drawing and painting her natural surroundings.

As much as she fights it, her parents fully support the union and what it will mean for their family. Lucrezia is young but once she becomes a woman, she should be able to produce many heirs which is what her future husband Alfonso is counting on. But we learn very early on that Lucrezia will not survive this marriage and what unfolds is an unputdownable story.

I enjoyed O’Farrell’s previous book, Hamnet so when it came time to choose another book for book club I chose The Marriage Portrait and it did not disappoint. It’s full of beautiful passages, and centers itself around art and beauty, even with the threat of something darker lurking in the background. The characters are well-developed and although the story is based on true events, O’Farrell gives Lucrezia the ending that she wants her to have. It’s very well done and now I’ve added all of O’Farrell’s books to my Libby list.

Highly recommend.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. ( )

3.5 stars. Beautiful writing but way longer than it needed to be. Wish there were more details of what made her believe he was the way he was. ( )

7.5 Well I was disappointed in this book. I struggle when authors take license with actual historic figures, but then I guess they can, in the name of fiction. Another book where I found the changing time frame confusing despite the chapter headings. It was often within a short time period. It did cause me to seek more information on the characters though. ( )