By Sherri Puzey

I’m not one to gravitate toward 16th-century historical fiction–unless, that is, the cover has Maggie O’Farrell’s name on it. In 2020, the novelist from Northern Ireland published Hamnet, a beautifully heartbreaking book set in the 1500s as the Black Plague is sweeping through England. Though it was O’Farrell’s tenth book, it was a departure from her contemporary novels and ended up being the one that really took off in the United States. It’s since sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. and has won multiple awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award. Apparently, O’Farrell has found her sweet spot: last month she published The Marriage Portrait, her second novel set in the 1500s. It’s now been on the New York Times bestseller list for the past three weeks.

The Marriage Portrait opens with a dinner scene during which a young duchess in Renaissance Italy suddenly realizes that her husband is going to kill her. From there we go back and forth in time, getting to know the duchess, Lucrezia, and the events that occurred leading up to their marriage, as well as the fallout of this fateful evening. O’Farrell is a brilliant writer: every sentence is gorgeous and smart, and she expertly crafts a world and setting I didn’t want to leave. I was completely absorbed in the atmospheric details of the homes, life at court, and even the daily rituals. 

A stunning story of the resilience of the fascinating woman believed to have inspired Robert Browning’s famous poem “My Last Duchess.”

++

Sherri Puzey is an editor at Zibby Mag and a senior marketing manager at Zibby Books. You can find her book reviews and recommendations on Instagram @whatsherrireads.