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It’s a long book, over 400 pages and I thought it might take me a week to get through it. But I quickly found it compulsive reading. It’s mainly set in the early 1560s, and the main character is a young woman called Lucrezia. In a brief introduction, we learn that although this is a novel, Lucrezia is based on a woman of the same name who was a duchess in Italy. And she died, possibly murdered by her husband, when she was just sixteen.
The book then opens with a short scene in 1561. Lucrezia has been married for a year to Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrari. They’ve just arrived at a somewhat remote location, supposedly for a break. And she has a sudden conviction that he wants to kill her. This is at odds with his apparently loving actions as he encourages her to eat some dinner.
The book then goes back nearly seventeen years, to Lucrezia’s conception. The event is described without gratuitous detail, thankfully. It’s cleverly done, demonstrating how she is the odd one out of her family: she’s feisty and determined, always asking questions, not wanting to comply with her parents’ rules. Lucrezia has two older brothers and two older sisters, all of whom consider her rather beneath them. Eventually she has some younger brothers, too, but she has little to do with them.
Lucrezia is clearly very bright. She absorbs knowledge, she loves to read, and she is a talented artist at quite a young age. She has a tremendous imagination, and also empathy for the servants, and the menagerie of wild animals that her father collects. I was rather shocked at the description of the abusive capture and treatment of lions, and a bear and tiger that were kept in the cellar. But perhaps this was common in the era.
The chapters are of different lengths, some just a few pages, some considerably longer. There are insights into Lucrezia’s childhood and family life, and then there are short sections showing the 1561 timeline, following on from the first section. But the main part of the story begins in 1560 as she is prepared, at just 15, to marry Alfonso. This is an arranged marriage, to someone rather older than she is.
She has tried to persuade her father to rethink, but he is implacable. Her duty is to marry and to produce heirs. And she has met Alfonso, just once, when she was ten; he seemed to understand her, and treated her like a significant person. But when she is married - and the whole day passes like a kind of dream to her - she has no idea what to expect. She will be taken away from her home and from the people she loves, and expected to assume duties as a wife and Duchess, with little to prepare her.
Alfonso seems, at first, to be a loving husband. He doesn’t want to hurt his new wife, although the consummation of the marriage proves to be very painful for Lucrezia. But she’s been taught to submit, and she knows her ‘duty’.
The book follows her in her first year: at first, delighted with the freedom she has to do whatever she likes, no longer having to follow her parents’ schedules. She can go anywhere in the grounds, eat whatever she likes, and she can sleep as late as she wants to. But at the same time is a growing awareness that her husband is in charge: she must not enquire about his work, or about family politics, and she must never question the rather brutal ‘discipline’ that he and his closest friend and adviser impose, sometimes, on servants.
The writing is powerful, and the author builds an authentic picture of life for a woman of Lucrezia’s class in the middle of the 16th century. Even when there are descriptive passages, or where not much happens, I found myself reading compulsively. There’s some tension - it’s hard for Lucrezia to know who to trust, although her instincts are usually good. And there’s a constant battle inside her, between what she knows she must do, and what she would like to do.
But it’s not until the final chapters that things come to a head. I could hardly put it down, wondering what would happen, and how. I was expecting some kind of twist, perhaps a reprieve. When the climax happens it’s foreshadowed in such a way as to be inevitable, and also very sad, even though there’s some hope for the future for one significant character.
I’m struggling to decide whether or not I enjoyed the book, but I’m glad I read it. As a piece of social history - albeit researched - it’s excellent. I am aware that in some parts of the world women are still considered the property of men, as breeding machines rather than creative people with equal rights. I feel extremely thankful to live in the 21st century, in a European country.
I doubt if I will read this again, but on the whole I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical novels based on real people.
Review copyright 2025 Sue's Book Reviews
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