ashleyruth 's review for:

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

4.5

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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I got this book for Christmas back in 2023 and I finally cracked it (not literally) open and gave it a read. I love historical fiction, especially set in Renaissance Italy so I knew I would enjoy this.

For me, historical fiction feels like a warm hug and I definitely felt that while reading. The FMC, Lucrezia is part of the Medici family, a powerful family in Florence, and were big art patrons. As such, they came up quite a bit in the Art History courses I did at university and reading this book gave me a sense of familiarity.

Lucrezia is the black sheep of her family. Even from her conception she is not like anyone else and does not want the traditional life of a woman of the time. I love how Lucrezia is given an identity other than being another woman whose life was cut short. 

We follow her throughout her life and as a result get quite attached to her. We know her fate thanks to history but this book gives a satisfying end to her story.

The only thing I wasn’t a massive fan of was the big chapters/time periods. They put me off and as a result I could only manage to read 2 or 3 pages at a time. Other than that I adored this book and I can’t wait to read Hamnet.