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The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell


close up of a portrait of Lucrezia di Medici
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell took the world by storm, becoming a New York Times best seller and the December 2022 pick for Reese's Book Club. The author has been writing for over two decades and is able to bring her subjects to life in front of you. This novel deals with an adult/minor relationship, animal cruelty and death, bullying, child abuse, death, emotional and physical abuse, misogyny, sexism, violence, classism, murder, and toxic relationship.


In The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O'Farrell was inspired by the life of Lucrezia de Medici, the youngest daughter of the Grand Duke of Tuscany who was married to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, at the age of thirteen. Even after her marriage, Lucrezia lived with her parents for almost two full years before moving to Ferrara. She entered Ferrara in February of 1560, by April 1561 she was dead. Her husband Alfonso was not a man beloved to either his subjects or his family, and rumors that she had been poisoned persisted even after a doctor declared her death to be caused by a putrid fever. Modern historians believe that she died of pulmonary tuberculosis but O'Farrell imagines what it may have looked like if the young duchess had been poisoned, and what the motive may have been.


I love history. It is one of my favorite things to talk about and I have bored many people by doing just that. I listened to this book and, let me say, it was difficult to get through. It may have been easier for me if I had read it but we will never know. The premise was very interesting, I wish I had enjoyed it more. I did not like the ending, which is a happy ending for some and a terrible ending for others and, in my opinion, places more value in Lucrezia's life than in her maid's.


I'm giving The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell 3.5 stars out of 5. It was meandering and I did not enjoy the ending. If you don't like history, I definitely would not recommend as it was hard enough for me to get through.


For more from Maggie O'Farrell, check out her website at https://www.maggieofarrell.com/


Pairs well with a frittata and befriending a wild animal. Good luck to you.




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