The Marriage Portrait (corrected) - Maggie O’Farrell

Written by Maggie O’Farrell
Read by Genevieve Gaunt, Maggie O’Farrell
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Books on Tape
Release date: September 6, 2022
Duration: 13:26:35

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 to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Moderna and Regio, 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 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 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.

Full of the drama and verve with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life, and offers an unforgettable portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.

“Three talented women–narrator, author, and protagonist–combine forces for this gripping historical novel set in Renaissance Italy. Maggie O’Farrell, author of the award-winning novel HAMNET, here introduces us to Lucrezia de’ Medici of Florence, who married Duke Alfonso d’Este of Ferrara in 1559. Genevieve Gaunt’s captivating performance illuminates the suspenseful tale like gold leaf on a beautiful manuscript. She reads O’Farrell’s world-building descriptions of court and countryside with seductive enunciation and pacing. Her 15-year-old Lucrezia is a tender pawn with brains and spirit. Her baritoned Alfonso is charismatic and chilling. Other characters ranging from servants to nobles are given equally enlightening accents and speech patterns. A thoughtful afterword delivered by the Irish-born O’Farrell explains her novelistic modifications to the few available historical facts. “—Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

I uploaded an incomplete copy in January 2023. I was in too much of a Hurry to get it up. Numbering was wrong and was not tagged. Corrected—numbered and chapter tags are accurate.