The Marriage Portrait
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The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'farrell
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 A Reese's Bookclub December Pick (2022) An Instant Sunday Times, New York Times and Irish Times Bestseller (August 2022) A Guardian and LitHub Book of the Year (December 2022) 'Every bit as evocative and spellbinding as Hamnet. O'Farrell, thank God, just seems to be getting better and better' i newspaper 'Her narrative enchantment will wrest suspense and surprise out of a death foretold' Financial Times 'Ingenious, inventive, humane, wry, truthful . . . better than her last novel' Scotsman 'Finely written and vividly imagined' Guardian 'In O'Farrell's hands, historical detail comes alive' Spectator 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.
Every bit as evocative and spellbinding as HamnetO'Farrell, thank God, just seems to be getting better and better . . . O'Farrell's writing is so vivid it melts away the time and space between now and 16th-century Italy . . . With The Marriage Portrait, then, O'Farrell hasn't just produced another magnificently transporting page-turner. She has given us an exhilarating, devastating look at women's captivity, creativity and ultimately, rebellion in a world run by some very cruel men * i newspaper *
Finely written and vividly imagined, it is far from being simplistic, but there is an engaging simplicity to it . . . a very good one to be read, as publishers used to say, by "children of all ages" * Guardian Book of the Day *
In O'Farrell's hands, historical detail comes alive . . . evocative, moving and sensitively rendered * Spectator *
O'Farrell is simply outstanding * Guardian *
Her writing is exquisite. Immersive and compelling * Marian Keyes *
An extraordinary writer with a profound understanding of the most elemental human bonds * Observer *
One of the most exciting novelists alive * Washington Post *
Ingenious, inventive, humane, wry, truthful . . . better than her last novel * Scotsman *
Her narrative enchantment will wrest suspense and surprise out of a death foretold * Financial Times *
Finely written and vividly imagined, it is far from being simplistic, but there is an engaging simplicity to it . . . a very good one to be read, as publishers used to say, by "children of all ages" * Guardian Book of the Day *
In O'Farrell's hands, historical detail comes alive . . . evocative, moving and sensitively rendered * Spectator *
O'Farrell is simply outstanding * Guardian *
Her writing is exquisite. Immersive and compelling * Marian Keyes *
An extraordinary writer with a profound understanding of the most elemental human bonds * Observer *
One of the most exciting novelists alive * Washington Post *
Ingenious, inventive, humane, wry, truthful . . . better than her last novel * Scotsman *
Her narrative enchantment will wrest suspense and surprise out of a death foretold * Financial Times *
Maggie O'Farrell is the author of HAMNET, Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020, and the memoir I AM, I AM, I AM, both Sunday Times no. 1 bestsellers. Her novels include AFTER YOU'D GONE, MY LOVER'S LOVER, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT, which was shortlisted for the Women's Prize. She is also the author of two books for children, WHERE SNOW ANGELS GO and THE BOY WHO LOST HIS SPARK. She lives in Edinburgh.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781472223845 |
| ISBN 10 | 1472223845 |
| Title | The Marriage Portrait |
| Author | Maggie O'farrell |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Headline Publishing Group |
| Year published | 2022-08-30 |
| Number of pages | 448 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |