THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O'Farrell

Historical fiction is not really my thing, and since I know that Maggie O’Farrell has a very fertile imagination, I would prefer that she stay away from semi-true stories.  I liked this much better than Hamnet, however, as this novel is very creepy--in a good way.  In this version of her life in the sixteenth century, Lucrezia de’Medici is married off to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, when she is only fifteen.  The ultimate insult that she receives from the Duke and his sister is that she is a mere child, but, ironically, her foremost duty is to bear a child, preferably male.  What makes this spooky, though, is that Lucrezia suspects that her husband will murder her in short order if she does not produce an heir, although rumor has it that the Duke is infertile.  I liked the suspense of this novel and especially its sinister Gothic mood, although the ending appeared to be a foregone conclusion.  O’Farrell kept me guessing as to whether she was going to be true to history or deviate. The Duke is handsome, and, at times, charming, but he has a dark side, particularly when it comes to challenges to his authority. Lucrezia is your typical spunky heroine who unwittingly incurs the dastardly Duke’s wrath at times and deserves a better fate.