The Marriage PortraitWinter, 1561. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. As they sit down to dinner it occurs to Lucrezia that Alfonso has a sinister purpose in bringing her here. He intends to kill her. Lucrezia is sixteen years old, and has led a sheltered life locked away inside Florence's grandest palazzo. Here, in this remote villa, she is entirely at the mercy of her increasingly erratic husband.

and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression

but persevered in leaking

In a small town in Sweden

He takes us with him on buying trips to old estates and auction houses

how to prepare your patch

A classic crime novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope series

In the year in which Matar's life was shattered by the disappearance of his father the work of the great artists of Siena seemed to offer him a sense of hope

without knowing why

But twenty years later

up and away

whether it's fine being left alone for half a day or whether that makes it sad

Out of the thrilling and tempestuous eighteenth century comes the sweeping family saga of beautiful Maria Theresa