That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,Looking as if she were alive. - 'My Last Duchess' by Robert BrowningIn school, we studied Browning's 'My Last Duchess'-- a poem about a Duke presenting a portrait of his late wife who, it soon emerges, he himself had killed. The poem always gave me a chill, especially the way in which the Duke casually gloated over his hand in her death. I never knew the poem was based on the true story of Alfonso II, Duke of Ferarra, and his young bride Lucrezia de' Me...

**Time for another unfavorable review of a popular book**Though I love beautiful prose, I find that when a book is overwritten, I am pulled out of the story. Instead of being absorbed in the pages or feeling invested in the protagonist's troubles, I am constantly kept on the surface because of the constant reminder that... well, I am reading. I am reading words that the author thought sounded pretty together, and that's why there are so many of them on the page, because the author could not quit...

One of my favorites of 2022Maggie O’Farrell has once again written a book that takes you directly to a different time and place. A time when women, even royalty, were just pawns in a game, meant to provide heirs. And woe to the woman who can’t meet that crucial requirement. The setting is Italy in the 1560s. Lucrezia is only 12 when her parents mark her as the intended spouse of the Duke of Ferrara, after her older sister, his fiancé, dies. Her marriage is delayed a few years, but she’s still on...

Marriage was her destiny, but death at a very young age was her fate. The canvas the author paints in this ‘Marriage Portrait’ is Lucrezia’s story. A powerful and evocative reimagining / retelling of the true story of 16-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de’Medici, whose untimely and suspicious death was believed by many to be the work of her husband. Skilfully written with sharp contrasts between the beautiful imagery created and the sad story of Lucz’s short life. I knew I had to be prepared for a s...

"If she is to survive this marriage, or perhaps even to thrive within it, she must preserve this part of herself and keep it away from him, separate, sacred."If you've ever strolled through an Art museum and entered a room filled with ornately framed portraits dating back from the Renaissance, your curiosity may be piqued by all those stern faces. The women, draped in velvet and anchored down with jewels, have either a look of indifference or a look of sadness about them. If only their stories w...

My heart is singing and racing as O’Farrell hums, stuns and spins a tale of an arranged marriage of a 15 year old girl, Lucrezia, to Alfonso, the Duke, 27 years of age.This girl with insight beyond her years. The premonition she will die at the hands of her husband. O’Farrell weaves a story of such vivid colours. The details in everyday moments, in paintings, in her portrait. The transformation of child to adult with the intuition of wisdom. A character study so intimate I felt like I was wearin...

This was actually a really good story, with especially the last hundred pages being filled with intrigue and suspense. However there is just SO so much superfluous description; it’s like when in school you had to bulk up the word count in an essay so you just threw in a bunch of adjectives. I became quite adept at scanning through description to reach plot points, however, that’s not the way I like to read a book. And don’t get me wrong; I love a bit of scene setting, I love to know in detail wh...

I read my first Maggie O’Farrell novel in 2014 and since then I’ve read every one she has written as well as her memoir. I can’t resist her beautiful and alluring opening sentences which I found here and as I remember also in The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox and The Hand That First Held Mine. At first, I didn’t feel the emotional impact as I did with Hamnet, but then before I knew it, Maggie O’Farrell brings the character, Lucrezia de Medici to life and right to the heart. No wonder why she’s on...

This opening ‘instant classic’ paragraph paints a picture that stays with the reader — not only —from start to finish— but long after…..due to its compelling surprise ending. “In 1560, fifteen-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de’ Medici left Florence to begin her married life with Alfonso II d’Este Duke of Ferrara”. “Less then a year later, she would be dead”. “The official cause of death was given as ‘putrid fever’, but it was rummoured that she had been murdered by her husband”. This novel conti...

This doesn’t compare to Hamnet and, for various reasons, took forever to read. While the writing is quite good there is simply too much of it.