THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT

Three talented women—narrator, author, and protagonist—combine forces for this gripping historical novel set in Renaissance Italy. Maggie O’Farrell, author of the award-winning novel HAMNET, here introduces us to Lucrezia de’ Medici of Florence, who married Duke Alfonso d’Este of Ferrara in 1559. Genevieve Gaunt’s captivating performance illuminates the suspenseful tale like gold leaf on a beautiful manuscript. She reads O’Farrell’s world-building descriptions of court and countryside with seductive enunciation and pacing. Her 15-year-old Lucrezia is a tender pawn with brains and spirit. Her baritoned Alfonso is charismatic and chilling. Other characters ranging from servants to nobles are given equally enlightening accents and speech patterns. A thoughtful afterword delivered by the Irish-born O’Farrell explains her novelistic modifications to the few available historical facts. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2022]