The Marriage Portrait

In winter 1561, Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. During dinner, she realises Alfonso intends to kill her. Sixteen-year-old Lucrezia has led a sheltered life within Florence's grandest palazzo, but in this remote villa, she is at the mercy of her erratic husband. She must determine how to survive against Alfonso, a provincial ruler and trained soldier. This novel reimagines the life of a young woman whose proximity to power places her in mortal danger.