The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’ Farrell

Synopsis
Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her.

Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence’s grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.

What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival.

My Review

Last year Maggie O’ Farrell published her first historical novel Hamnet to great acclaim and she has now stayed with that genre with The Marriage Portrait. Set in mid sixteenth century Italy this is the story of Lucrezia de Medici, daughter of the ruler of Florence Cosimo de Medici. At the age of fifteen she is married to Alfonso II d’ Este Duke of Ferrari and a year later she is dead. This is the story of Lucrezia from child to wife set against the politics and power of Renaissance Italy.

I have been a fan of Maggie O’ Farrell for many years and have read most of her books with some leaving a lasting impression. The Marriage Portrait almost feels it was written for me with its setting of Renaissance Italy, the main character being Lucrezia de Medici, someone I have come across several times in my studies and art history. It is also influenced by a poem I have read Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess about Lucrezia de Medici and her suspicious death.

Lucrezia is a wonderful and complex character. Born into the most powerful family in Florence and in Italy she lives a sheltered existence rarely able to leave her palazzo. Maggie O’Farrell paints a picture of a young girl who stands out in her difference to her siblings and parents. She loves her studies, is very intelligent and has a talent for painting. The only person who understands her is her nurse Sofia who becomes her ally, especially in helping stall her marriage. Lucrezia’s sensitivity and naivety shine through in this book, and I found myself caring about her even though I knew the outcome. She is not cut out for marriage but in the ruthless world of politics and power she is a pawn in a complicated game of chess; an object to be sold and a vessel for Alfonso to have heirs.

Maggie O’ Farrell admits that she has changed some of the history facts to fit the story but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book. Her historical research shone through, with her understanding of the politics of Renaissance Italy and the complex relationships in the Medici family. I loved her depictions of the palazzo’s, the nature and landscape of Italy and the beautiful clothes. She also shone a light on how women had little power in the sixteenth century, they were under the control from the men in their lives. Lucrezia first ruled by her father and then her husband expected to produce an heir, something she failed to do and probably cost her her life. Renaissance Italy was a beautiful place, the architecture, clothes and art were some of the best in the world and still are in my opinion. However, as in this story there is also the darker side to this world, how power is everything and that can prove fatal.

The Marriage Portrait is now my favourite book from Maggie O’ Farrell and probably my favourite book of the year. This book put me in my happy place, back in Renaissance Italy and in the world of art. Lucrezia de Medici’s story is tragic, dead at just sixteen probably poisoned for not bearing Alfonso an heir, an expendable commodity. Beautifully written as always this is a masterpiece of historical fiction.