The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

During the 1550's the de Midici family in Florence was one of the leading power families of Renaissance Italy. It seemed only natural to increase their power by joining forces with another powerful family and marry their youngest daughter Lucrezia to Alfonso d'Este. It didn't matter that Lucrezia was very young and had led a sheltered life and that Alfonso was much older and a widower. It also didn't matter that he was a tyrant. Lucrezia was a pawn in a powerful chess game and there to produce male heirs. She was considered to be quite a beauty so Alfonso commissions a marriage portrait to be painted mainly so he could show her off as his latest possession. The paint on the canvas would barely be dry before the marriage would end. The author paints a stunning landscape of powerful men, their subservient women and all the family drama and violence in between. This is historical fiction that is compelling, captivating and illuminating sure to appeal to art lovers, fans of the Italian Renaissance and deadly power struggles.  5 stars