An imagining of the brief life of Lucrezia de’ Medici which is full of rich descriptions of the dress, jewels and life in the ducal palaces of Renaissance Italy. We follow her through childhood and early marriage of convenience to Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara. She is a pawn in powerful dynasties and the need for an heir. O’Farrell has distorted historical facts for a modern reading of the heroine, but it is an entrancing read.
(The title refers to Robert Browning’s poem ‘My Last Duchess’.)
(Christine Miller - bwl 107 Winter 2023 ) |
