The Marriage Portrait

The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the acclaimed author of Hamnet, The Marriage Portrait is a dazzling evocation of the Italian Renaissance in all its beauty and brutality.<p></p><p></p>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.<p></p>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.<p></p><p></p>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.<p></p><p></p>The Marriage Portrait is an unforgettable reimagining of the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.<p></p>