Book guide
The Marriage Portrait
A young duchess in Renaissance Italy realizes her powerful husband may have brought her to a remote villa to kill her.
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About The Marriage Portrait
The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the acclaimed author of Hamnet, The Marriage Portrait is a dazzling evocation of the Italian Renaissance in all its beauty and brutality. Winter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her. Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence's grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband. What is Lucrezia to do with this sudden knowledge? What chance does she have against Alfonso, ruler of a province, and a trained soldier? How can she ensure her survival. The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.
Reading signals
- Spice
- None
- Darkness
- Dark
- Pacing
- Balanced
Content warnings
- domestic abuse
- threat of murder
- period-typical misogyny
- rape mentioned
- miscarriage mentioned
- animal cruelty
- adult/minor marriage
