The Marriage Portrait

This new book by Maggie O'Farrell, the author of HAMNET, is a thrill to read and recommend! THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT is set in 16th-century Italy and introduces us to captivating young duchess Lucrezia de Medici. She was born into one of Tuscany's ruling families and was married, at age 15, to the Duke of Ferrara in an attempt to bind two of Europe's great lineages and cement their reign and power. However, Lucrezia was a free spirit who loved to paint and wanted nothing more than to be allowed to roam and create. After the wedding, as she is whisked away from all she knows and introduced to her new life, Lucrezia quickly realizes that her husband is capable of extreme cruelty and will stop at nothing to maintain control of his kingdom. Lucrezia's fate rests solely on whether she can produce an heir ... and you have to read to find out what unfolds. Renaissance Italy provides the backdrop for this stunner of a novel that you must not miss!