The Marriage Portrait
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The Marriage Portrait
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Narrated by:
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Genevieve Gaunt
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By:
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Maggie O'Farrell
About this listen
The woman in the portrait is perfect. So why does she feel so terrified, so alone?
Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, 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 to accept on her behalf.
Having barely left girlhood, Lucrezia must now make her way in a troubled court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appears 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 uncomfortable finery for the painting that is 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 Ferrarese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, her future hangs entirely in the balance.
©2022 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2022 Headline Publishing Group LtdListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Marriage Portrait
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 30-09-23
Gripping But Dark A Gripping But Dark
The title of The Marriage Portrait is again used in it’s figurative and literally within the novel. This is because O'Farrell was inspired by what little is known of the very short life Lucrezia de Meditci who was married off to the Duke of Ferrara when she was 13 and he in his thirties. Betrothed at 13 and actually married at 15.
As a woman I found this novel very hard to read at times. The beautiful prose really brings home what it feels like to be bought and sold as property rather than considered a person. You have one destiny in life and when you fail to fulfil that destiny there have to be consequences.
This is a brutal read but I kept turning the pages despite this which is the hallmark of a master wordsmith. It is also important to read books like this occasionally so that we appreciate that which we might otherwise take for granted.
Reading this also inspired me to start learning Italian.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Carolyn L.
- 20-10-22
fabulous
stunningly haunting, I loved the main character and how beautifully written the story was. Will read again
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jacqui
- 08-09-22
Brilliant and memorable
Utterly brilliant , I loved this book . Beautiful language and skillfully crafted, a joy from start to finish.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 25-09-22
A fascinating read
I rarely feel imperlled to leave a review but this book was beautifully written, well read and I was transported back to 16th century Italy. I was sorry to leave when the book was finished.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Helen
- 01-10-22
Wonderful
The story is completely absorbing and compelling. The narration pitch perfect , the writing rich and sumptuous. A fascinating fiction based in historical reality. I especially enjoyed the strong and wonderfully well written female characters, who all contributed to my understanding of what it meant to be a woman at that time. What an absolute treat.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- joanna
- 11-10-22
Magical.
Such a clever weaving of atmosphere. She's done it again. Magical prose brings an era to life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nikki Martin
- 12-10-22
what a book!!!
I f I was reading this as regular book I wouldn't have been able to put it down... not one to be missed !!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-12-22
Excellent
This book is so beautifully written. The sympathy you feel for the main character and the comparison with the tiger at the start is beautiful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs. Rosemary Watts
- 08-11-22
The best story, the amazing narrator and faultless writer.
This book was amazing. I listened to an audible version.
It was extremely well written, the writing alone actually forbade you not to feel what was going on both in the story but also insisted you feel what the main characters were feeling.
The author did not shrink away from the raw evil and cruelty.
Obviously sixteenth century brought with it the grossly unfair class system and the terrible injustice in the way women were treated, this was portrayed quite explicitly in The Marriage Portrait.
I shall definitely read it again and have already recommended it to friends and family.
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- Vicbo
- 06-07-23
Thrilling story.
The feeling of being involved in the life of Lucrezia held me throughout the length of the novel. The lyrical writing and details provided clear images of life in the court of Ferrara.
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