The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell
“It comes to her with a peculiar clarity, as if some coloured glass has been put in front of her eyes, or perhaps removed from them, that he intends to kill her.”
O’Farrell’s spellbinding novel begins at the point at which a Renaissance bride discovers that her husband intends to murder her. Through a vivid and transporting narrative, O’Farrell reimagines the life of the Italian duchess, Lucrezia de' Medici who, newly married, died by poison at the age of only 16.
The Marriage Portrait is framed by Lucrezia’s impending murder, with O’Farrell transporting the reader between the tense hours following her realisation and the circumstances that led to her marriage of the callous Duke of Ferrara. Examining themes of art and artifice, O’Farrell’s exploration of a 16th century Italian court examines one woman’s captivity, creativity, and courage in an often cruel and claustrophobic existence.
However, The Marriage Portrait also has an alluring hidden wildness running through it; from Lucrezia’s enraptured stroke of a tiger, covert paintings of imagined creatures, to her undying, untamed spirit. The Marriage Portrait is O’Farrell’s signature storytelling at its best.
Maggie O’Farrell reading from The Marriage Portrait
In a podcast world premiere, we’re celebrating the launch of Maggie O’Farrell’s hotly anticipated historical novel, The Marriage Portrait. That’s right – this is the first podcast in the world where you can hear an extract from the book and we’re delighted to be hosting our episode on nb’s website.
This podcast is edited and produced by Megan Bay Dorman, and programmed by Matt Casbourne.
Damian Barr’s Literary Salon is where the freshest debuts and the biggest bestsellers read for the first time from their latest greatest books and share their own personal stories.
Enjoy the Literary Salon podcast's Book of the Week where each bite-sized episode offers an exclusive taster of a new book. World premieres include Douglas Stuart's Shuggie Bain, Maddie Mortimer's Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies and Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait. You're going to love it.
Hosted by writer and broadcaster, Damian Barr, produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman and programmed by Matt Casbourne.
Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts.
