Reader Review: "The Marriage Portrait"
by Anthony Conty (Parkville, MD): "The Marriage Portrait" by Maggie O'Farrell requires critical re-reading. Set in 1560 in Italy; a 15-year-old has to marry a duke after her sister passes away while engaged to the guy. Lucrezia then becomes convinced that her new husband is not what he seems, and he fears that he may want to kill her. The history in this historical fiction tells us she is suitable, but we have more to learn.
Had Lucrezia been older than twelve when this deal for the marriage of two powerful families went down, the controversy would not come off as so creepy today. But, if you have to ask if menstruation has occurred, maybe a wedding is off the table. Nonetheless, a wedding happens most grandly, all while we jump back and forth to Lucrezia becoming mysteriously sick a year later.
Good historical fiction will have you peeking in on the real stories to figure out what happened. Lucrezia, for example, did only live to be sixteen. The character development takes on an exciting air, but her husband, Duke Alfonso, needs an aura of mystique but even kindness to give you pause.
O'Farrell writes Lucrezia with an air of confusion: she confronts a duplicitous husband and the oddness of sex with an older, unfamiliar man without the modern conveniences of choice and consent. Yet, as literature requires, we learn more about her skills and abilities that make her more than the court assumes based on his limited age and power.
Many people would not read this due to its setting, but it now has themes that echo society. Why do some people feel the need to dominate others and rationalize it as an act of love? The more we learn about the characters, the more it all makes sense, but not in a good way. You will hate several people on the pages but still read it.
by Anthony Conty (Parkville, MD): "The Marriage Portrait" by Maggie O'Farrell requires critical re-reading. Set in 1560 in Italy; a 15-year-old has to marry a duke after her sister passes away while engaged to the guy. Lucrezia then becomes convinced that her new husband is not what he seems, and he fears that he may want to kill her. The history in this historical fiction tells us she is suitable, but we have more to learn.
Had Lucrezia been older than twelve when this deal for the marriage of two powerful families went down, the controversy would not come off as so creepy today. But, if you have to ask if menstruation has occurred, maybe a wedding is off the table. Nonetheless, a wedding happens most grandly, all while we jump back and forth to Lucrezia becoming mysteriously sick a year later.
Good historical fiction will have you peeking in on the real stories to figure out what happened. Lucrezia, for example, did only live to be sixteen. The character development takes on an exciting air, but her husband, Duke Alfonso, needs an aura of mystique but even kindness to give you pause.
O'Farrell writes Lucrezia with an air of confusion: she confronts a duplicitous husband and the oddness of sex with an older, unfamiliar man without the modern conveniences of choice and consent. Yet, as literature requires, we learn more about her skills and abilities that make her more than the court assumes based on his limited age and power.
Many people would not read this due to its setting, but it now has themes that echo society. Why do some people feel the need to dominate others and rationalize it as an act of love? The more we learn about the characters, the more it all makes sense, but not in a good way. You will hate several people on the pages but still read it.
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