The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

“Lucrezia feels…the rise of what she thinks of as her spirit -- the unfettered part of herself to which no one, not even she, has access.”

Maggie O'Farrell is a multi-faceted author. She's written some of the best literary fiction out there and she also wrote a very unique memoir. With Hamnet we saw her give voice to an unknown woman from the pages of history. First— this is not Hamnet; it has a very different feel. I described Hamnet as having a fairy tale quality and TMP reads more like traditional historical fiction. What is similar is O'Farrell's flair for drawing us into a particular period in history; her attention to detail, setting and a slow character build that allow us to get lost in another time in a way I've never experienced with other authors.

Of course we will never really know what went on in the minds and interactions of these characters from history, and so there is a suspension of disbelief. For some who are passionate about history it can feel far-fetched, but I enjoyed the time travel to Renaissance Florence then went down a rabbit hole of research into the life of Lucrezia di Cosimo di'Medici.

At its core, The Marriage Portrait is the story of a very young Florentine royal who, having no agency for herself, is married off to the Duke of Ferrara. The majority of the story is her attempt to adapt to her new life with a husband she cannot trust and who she believes wants her dead. The Marriage Portrait is a slow drama with an omniscient POV and although it did have more plot than Hamnet, it still leans towards character study and we as readers must decide who we can trust.

The ending blew my mind and I had to go back and read it again to make sure I'd read it right. And then I began devouring online articles because I do have an inherent desire to separate fact from fiction. I can't wait to talk with other readers about TMP and I do see it as one of THE fall books of 2022. And this cover!  Thank you AAKnopf for my copy!  This debuts 9/6.