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The Marriage Portrait: A novel
The acclaimed author of Hamnet—a New York Times bestseller and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award—now turns her perceptive eye to the ruling families of Renaissance Italy, for whom marriage meant political power, while a woman’s worth was measured by her ability to perpetuate a dynasty.
Inspired by a daughter of the ...show more
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Community Reviews
Chilling portrayal of the life of a nobleman’s daughter in medieval Italy. The protagonist is Lucrezia, an unwanted 5th child, who is tormented by her siblings and is married too a Duke at age 15. Unfamiliar with the intrigues of court and the demands of marriage, we empathize with her tormented life. The story is fictional, but based on recorded events. It was fascinating to see the lifestyles and horrifying to see the way women were treated as ...read more
Content warning for violence, abuse, interpersonal violence, murder, manipulation, and related topics. The setting of this novel was completely immersive. O'Farrell paints such a convincing picture of Renaissance Italy, from the attire to the expectations on Lucrezia from a very young age. The ending was incredible, I wondered if it would happen that way and I thought the use of future tense in that final chapter was wonderful. I wish Lucrezia ha...read more
A great read for historic fiction lovers with a splash of Florence Italy during the Renaissance period. It does have a painfully slow start. Might have overdone it with the background information, but once it picks up, the book is hard to put down
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