The Marriage Portrait

Tradition in wealthy Renaissance families was that shortly after the wedding a portrait should be made of the bride. The Duke of Ferrara arranges for a well known painter to make such a portrait of his new wife. Fifteen year old Lucrezia di Cosimo had married Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, in 1560 and left her family in Florence to live in Ferrara. She was allowed to take Emilia with her as her maid. Lucrezia loves to draw and paint and also explore the world outside her home but she soon discovers that she is expected to remain inside. Her main role as Alfonzo's wife is to produce a son and heir for the family. It is not long before Lucrenzia discovers that there are two sides to her new husband - one charming and caring; the other sinister and cruel. She also learns that she must not disobey her husband. A year after her marriage, Lucrezia begins to fear that her husband plans to murder her.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell is a work of fiction loosely based on the true relationship between Lucrezia di Cosimo and Alfonzo II D'Este. A year after their marriage Lucrezia was found dead and her husband was suspected of murdering her. In this novel the author paints a graphic picture of the life of young women brought up in ruling families during the Renaissance.

This was a Monash University Alumni Book Club book in 2023.

Hamnet

The works of the playwright, William Shakespeare, have played an important part in English literature since the sixteenth century. Increasingly other works have been written based on his plays and poetry and also about his life - though little information about his life actually exists. There have also been numerous television programs, such as Upstart Crow, based on Shespeare as playwright and relations with his family. A recent film, All is True, also looked at the latter years of Shakepeare's life.

In this work of historical fiction, Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell tells the story of Shakespeare's family in Stratford-upon-Avon. The main character is Agnes (Anne) who marries the future bard when he is helping his father with his glovemaking business and teaching Latin to village school boys. It is obvious that William's mind is not on either of these jobs. When William and Agnes marry they live in a small building attached to his parents' house. Their lives are therefore intertwined with ther members of William's family, particularly his father who is definitely not easy to live with.

Eventually William goes to London to find suppliers for selling his father's gloves but while there becomes involved with the theatre as an actor and a writer and producer of plays. Meanwhile, back in Stratford-upon-Avon, Agnes looks after the three children - Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Judith was born a sickly child and Agnes did not want to risk taking her to London to live. From time to time the father visits his family but he is needed in London to supervise the productions that he has written. 

In 1596 the plague returns to London and the theatres are closed. The theatre companies therefore take the opportunity to tour their plays in nearby counties. Meanwhile the plague also comes to Shakespeare's house with tragic consequences. The rest of the novel explores the reactions of family members, particularly the parents, to the loss of a child.

This is a moving novel which provides interesting background as to what life may have been like at the end of sixteenth century England. The novel has now become the basis of a play performed by The Royal Shakespeare Company.