The Marriage Portrait

No cover — Maggie O'Farrell: The Marriage Portrait (Paperback, 2023, Vintage)

Paperback, 352 pages

Published July 11, 2023 by Vintage.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-31508-8

View on OpenLibrary

(2 reviews)

7 editions

Naomi reviewed The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

4 stars

This was beautifully written, as expected (I loved Hamnet). It has a tense, claustrophobic quality that immerses you in the tightly controlled world of Lucrezia. Speaking of which; she is so full of humanity, something I think is quite tricky to pull off with historical figures. Could it have done with being a smidge shorter? Probably, but I was so gripped I didn't really care.

sarah reviewed The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

infuriating

3 stars

Content warning This was tolerable until it became clear how the tension was going to resolve and then I was furious.

I knew that the maid who looked just like her was doomed, but that there didn't seem to be any hesitations about inventing a poor woman who could be sacrificed to save the rich woman just is infuriating.