"Isola" and "The Marriage Portrait" educated, wealthy 1500s women fight to survive male subjugation скачать в хорошем качестве

"Isola" and "The Marriage Portrait" educated, wealthy 1500s women fight to survive male subjugation

What? You didn’t get an invitation to the Bezos-Sanchez wedding last weekend in Venice? Me neither! You can’t afford a lavish vacation anyway? Nor can I! No worries, you can travel with me this summer to Italy – as well as to Ireland, France, Labrador, Korea, China, Central America, and throughout the beautiful United States – for the cost of a trip to the library or your local bookstore. Author Anna Quindlen writes, “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey.” Indeed! With that…welcome to Episode 116 of Pink’s Picks Book Recs: commentary from a retired high school English teacher. Today’s historical fiction titles, “Isola” and “The Marriage Portrait” take us to 1500s France and Italy and are based on the lives of two young women who – despite their wealth, status, and education – wind up at the mercy of ruthless men and ultimately must fight to survive. Allegra Goodman, who “grew up on [Oahu] (Author’s Note), has “always been fascinated by islands and castaways” (“A Mighty Blaze” podcast interview Feb. 14, 2025); thus, “drawn to novels such as “Robinson Crusoe” and “Kidnapped” (Author’s Note). So, when she serendipitously “discovered Marguerite de la Roque… [in] a children’s book” (Author’s Note), she was riveted by the woman’s harrowing story. Goodman learned that, “In 1542, a nobleman” sailed from France to “what is now Canada…bringing along his young ward… who annoyed him by having an affair aboard ship.” As punishment, he marooned Marguerite and her lover on an [uninhabited] island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence…” (Author’s Note). In addition to Goodman’s stellar characterization, I love her structure. She begins with an antique map of New France followed by a brilliant half-page, 15-line Prologue where she uses the pronoun “I” nineteen times to introduce the theme of isolation. The (at this point unnamed) protagonist agonizes in this passage about being “alone” on “[her] island.” This theme is reinforced in the first paragraph of the main narrative where we learn that Marguerite’s mother died during Marguerite’s birth, her father died when she “was three years old,” (3) she has no siblings and nor any living relatives. The story is divided (retrospectively) into six parts, each with an epigraph written in 1517 by Anne of France for her daughter, “short lessons…on how to be a lady” (Further Reading).n addition to that, Goodman mentions in her INotes that “two contemporary accounts of [Marguerite’s] ordeal survive.” One was written by the Queen in 1558. Goodman includes a scene in the novel depicting Marguerite’s interaction with the Queen. “In real life,” the royal “modeled [her collection of stories] on Boccaccio’s ‘The Decameron’” written in 1353. I find this especially interesting as one of O’Farrell’s two epigraphs is from “The Decameron.” O’Farrell begins “The Marriage Portrait” with an Historical Note: “In 1560, fifteen-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de’ Medici left Florence to begin her married life with Alfonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Less than a year later, she would be dead. The official cause of death was given as ‘pitrid fever,’ but it was rumoured that she had been murdered by her husband.” So, from the beginning, we know Lucrezia’s fate (or do we?). In O’Farrell’s deft hands, this knowledge in no way diminishes the thrill of discovering how Lucrezia got to this point. All of the chapters are cleverly-named beginning with, ‘A Wild and Lonely Place,’ set in an old fortress near Bodeno, Italy in 1561 on the day before Lucrezia’s death. The second chapter is titled, ‘The Unfortunate Circumstances of Lucrezia’s Conception,’ set in 1544 at her parents’ palazzo in Florence. From here, the chapters rotate between the past and the present until the timelines intersect. I love O’Farrell’s extensive diction (both English and Italian) and her period-appropriate detail. Her vivid imagery of: clothing, cuisine, architecture, landscapes, and interior design made these elements seem palpable. Further, I adore this cover-more so after having read the novel. In the background, you see an image of Lucrezia’s portrait painted in 1560 by Agnola Bronzino and/or his pupil, Alessandro Allori (back flap). In the forefront, you see tiger stripes. Lucrezia’s father had a penchant for exotic animals which he imported, then housed in the “basement” of their palazzo. In the novel, Lucrezia views the tiger as her kindred spirit. The beautiful beast’s unfortunate containment serves as a powerful metaphor for Lucrezia’s confinement. O’Farrell is a Pink’s Picks repeat author; I reviewed “Hamnet” (and love it!) in Episode 23. Her storytelling talent is what motivated me to purchase this book. “Isola” is my first exposure to Goodman, but it will not be my last. I am thrilled to now know the names of two more amazing women from the 16th Century. And I give these titles, both A’s.