The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell< /p>\n
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\nFlorence\, the 1550s. Lucre zia\, third daughter of the grand duke\, is comfortable with her obscure p lace in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures\, observe its clandes tine workings\, and 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 qu ick to accept on her behalf. Having barely left girlhood behind\, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is he r new husband himself\, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeare d to be before their wedding\, the aesthete happiest in the company of art ists and musicians\, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formi dable sisters seem to tremble? As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come\, one thi ng becomes worryingly clear. In the court&rsquo\;s eyes\, she has one duty : to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynast y. Until then\, for all of her rank and nobility\, the new duchess&rsquo\; s future hangs entirely in the balance.
\n\n\nhttps://tol edo.libnet.info/event/16071243 URL;VALUE=URI:https://toledo.libnet.info/event/16071243 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/toledo/Marriageport.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR