Author: Maggie O'Farrell
Year published: 2022
Category: Adult fiction (historical)
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): Italy
Summary: Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the 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 just as quick to accept on her behalf.
Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared 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 constricting finery for a painting intended 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 Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.
Review: I have only read one other Maggie O'Farrell nonfiction book, I am, I am, I am (link to my review), and I thought it was terrific. This one, I didn't like as much, but it's very well done.
I do like historical fiction, and this novel did a wonderful job of setting the scene of Italy in the mid 1500s. The descriptions of the clothing, the hair, the buildings, draperies, countryside, and smells were all well done and really painted a detailed picture for me. The medieval era isn't one that I am usually drawn to which may be why this novel won't rank in my top of the year, but if you like that era, this one is for you.
Lucrezia is an interesting character in that she is really young but is given wisdom beyond her years. She is a talented artist, very perceptive, intelligent, etc. She'd need to be for the book to work. I didn't realize this would be the story of a controlling/emotionally abusive husband and the effects of that personality on his wife and those around them. This was very well done. Once Lucrezia and Alfonso were married, I did get much more into the story. And, yes, the reader feels that doom and gloom is the only outcome of the plot so I thought the ending was a bit odd (don't want any spoilers).
The author's afterword is interesting, as I didn't realize the people and (some) events were real. I like that.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (Author)--O
No comments
Post a Comment