The Marriage PortraitThe Marriage Portrait
What it's about
In 1550s Italy, Lucrezia de' Medici, a fifteen-year-old girl who loves to paint, is married off to Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara. A year later, she suspects that her husband plans to kill her. Maggie O'Farrell imagines the life of the young duchess whose early death inspired Robert Browning's poem 'My Last Duchess'.
Why it's worth reading
It was a Goodreads Choice finalist. It's a vivid, suspenseful novel by the author of Hamnet.
You'll love it if you liked
Good to know
It deals with marital abuse.
By the numbers
- Readers36 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics25 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller43 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz37 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #90 of the 116 historical novels we rank
- #281 of the 481 new books we rank
- #1623 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Maggie O'Farrell
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Quick answers
Is The Marriage Portrait worth reading?
Yes. It was a Goodreads Choice finalist. It ranks #1,623 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 67.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Marriage Portrait about?
In 1550s Italy, Lucrezia de' Medici, a fifteen-year-old girl who loves to paint, is married off to Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara. A year later, she suspects that her husband plans to kill her. Maggie O'Farrell imagines the life of the young duchess whose early death inspired Robert Browning's poem 'My Last Duchess'.
How long does it take to read The Marriage Portrait?
About 11 hours (448 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Marriage Portrait?
If you liked it, try Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel or Restoration by Rose Tremain.