His Last Duchess is the captivating fictionalised account of the ill-fated marriage of Alfonso d’Este, fifth duke of Ferrara, and Lucrezia de’ Medici. They married in 1559, but just three years later Lucrezia mysteriously disappears from records. While some believe that she died of natural causes, others, including Victorian poet Robert Browning, preferred to believe that Alfonso was in some way responsible for her demise.
Browning’s depiction of the widowed duke in his dark and sinister poem ‘My Last Duchess’ has long fascinated Gabrielle Kimm and is the inspiration behind her debut novel.
Kimm’s Lucrezia is young and naive with a curiosity and love of life that betrays her eminent social standing. Her passion and energy intrigues the ambitious duke, and she looks forward to an idyllic life with her handsome husband. But what enchants and beguiles in courtship, soon displeases in marriage and no sooner have the newlyweds returned to the oppressive Castello Estense than the union begins to crumble.
As tensions mount, the absence of an heir jeopardises Alfonso’s political standing and the Vatican threatens to reclaim his title. The duke’s growing resentment towards his young duchess soon becomes unbearable and he begins to plot an unthinkable way to escape his problems.
His Last Duchess is a stunning debut, rich in historical detail that explores women’s freedom, forbidden love and the passions, and people, of 16th century Tuscany and Ferrara.
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