03155cam a2200505 i 4500 872124026 TxAuBib 20230626120000.0 220818s2022||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2022015347 9780593320624 hardcover 059332062X hardcover (OCoLC)1341348911 TxAuBib rda O'Farrell, Maggie, 1972- The marriage portrait / Maggie O'Farrell. First United States edition. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2022. ©2022. 339 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier "A Borzoi book"--Title page verso. Includes bibliographical references. "A novel set in Renaissance Italy, and centering on the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici"-- Provided by publisher. "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 to 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 make her way in a troubled 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 Ferrarese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess's future hangs entirely in the balance."-- Publisher's description. 20230626. Medici, Lucrezia de', 1545-1561 Fiction. Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio, 1533-1597 Fiction. Arranged marriage Fiction. Young women Italy Florence 16th century Fiction. European fiction Renaissance, 1450-1600. Duchies Italy Florence Fiction. Florence (Italy) History 1421-1737 Fiction. Biographical fiction. Historical fiction. Biographical fiction. Fiction. Historical fiction. History. Novels. Novels. O'Farrell, Maggie, 1972-, London : Tinder Press, 2022.