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"O’Farrell pulls out little threads of historical detail to weave this story of a precocious girl sensitive to the contradictions of her station ... You may know the history, and you may think you know what’s coming, but don’t be so sure." —The Washington Post
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.
Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.
Cover image: © Alinari Archives / Raffaello Bencini / Art Resource, NY
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 6, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593628096
- File size: 384813 KB
- Duration: 13:21:41
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from July 11, 2022
This lush, provocative historical from National Book Critics Circle Award winner O’Farrell (Hamnet) follows a young woman who is married off at 15 amid the complex world of 16th-century Italian city-states. O’Farrell bases her heroine, Lucrezia de’ Medici, on a real-life figure depicted in Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess,” who was murdered by her husband. When the reader first meets Lucrezia, she’s been married for not quite a year and faces mortal danger in what O’Farrell describes as a “wild and lonely place.” The narrative moves back and forth from the nearly deserted fortress where Lucrezia plays a game of cat and mouse with the duke of Ferrara, the husband who might be attempting to kill her, and the events that have brought her here. As a child of a noble family in Florence, she was untamable and passionate about making art. Now, the duke grows increasingly impatient with her as she fails to produce the heir he needs to secure his position. O’Farrell excels at sumptuous set pieces: Lucrezia’s encounter with a tiger her father keeps in the basement beneath their palace, the wedding where she is draped and almost swallowed up by her gown, her meetings with the mysterious figures at her new home, particularly her enigmatic husband. By imagining an alternative fate for Lucrezia that deviates from the historical record, the author crafts a captivating portrait of a woman attempting to free herself from a golden cage. Fans of the accomplished Hamnet won’t be disappointed by this formidable outing. Agent: Christy Fletcher, Fletcher & Co. -
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. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine -
June 10, 2024
O'Farrell (Hamnet), winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Women's Prize for Fiction, has written another compelling story based on Lucrezia de' Medici, who lived during the 16th century. Lucrezia is a precocious and curious young woman, a bright student, and a gifted painter. When her older sister, Maria, suddenly dies before her wedding to Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, Lucrezia, who is only 15, is forced to take her place as Alfonso's bride. When she is 16, Lucrezia must leave her safe but confining home and move to Ferrara to marry the duke. As soon as she arrives in Ferrara and spends time with the politically ruthless and cruel duke, she realizes that her life is in mortal danger, as she is expected to produce an heir, but it is apparent that the duke is infertile. Genevieve Gaunt engages the listener with her emotional and expressive narration, adding depth to this historical figure and her battle for survival. VERDICT For patrons who enjoyed Hamnet and seek out historical fiction about strong women who cleverly fight against the unforgiving restraints of their time.--Ilka Gordon
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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