The
marriage portrait
O'Farrell, Maggie
creator
author.
text
novel
Historical fiction.
Biographical fiction.
enk
London, UK
Headline
2022
2022
monographic
eng
438 pages ; 24 cm.
Florence, 1561. 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 her appears 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 which 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.
adult
Maggie O'Farrell.
Includes bibliographical references.
Medici, Lucrezia de'
1545-1561
Fiction
II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio
Alfonso
1533-1597
Fiction
Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio II d'Este
Alfonso
1533-1597
Fiction
Spouses
Fiction
Nobility
Italy
Fiction
Art
Fiction
Arranged marriage
Fiction
Renaissance
Italy
Florence
Fiction
Ferrara (Italy)
Fiction
Florence (Italy)
History
1421-1737
Fiction
UK & IRL historical fiction
823.92
9781472223852
9781472223845
1472223853
AU@
220212
20240123100240.0
000070797527
eng