Resurrecting the Marchesa: An illustrated lecture by Sarah Dunant

“RESURRECTING THE MARCHESA.”

 AN ILLUSTRATED LECTURE ON THE LIFE AND EXPLOITS OF ISABELLA D’ESTE 

 By SARAH DUNANT

In an age where women had little public power, Isabella d’Este (1474 – 1539) stands out as a formidable figure. She was born into one of Italy’s most illustrious dynasties and married into another. Her husband , Francesco Gonzaga, was a warrior and a philanderer, but their partnership – she ran the state while he was away fighting – lasted over a quarter of a century, during which time she became the greatest female patron and art collector of the Italian renaissance. Her taste, both in art and fashion, her appetite for everything – particularly shopping and food, along with her strong-minded personality make her a great subject for a novel.  But getting under her skin means accessing an extraordinary archive of letters which she left (thirty-three thousand of them) as well as walking in her footsteps through the fortresses and palaces of Ferrara and Mantua.  This lecture will give you some idea of both the pain and pleasure of that process. Getting Isabella right is not an easy business.

The lecture will be preceded by a short recital of music of the period given by students from Aberdeen City and North East Scotland Music Schools.

CRITICAL PAISE FOR THE NOVEL 

Sarah Dunant combines meticulous research, narrative verve, and feminist insight to make The Marchesa an utterly compelling, unputdownable read. Isabella d’Este – the greatest woman of the Renaissance – comes roaring to life in these pages and into our hearts.’

Dr Amanda Foreman, author of the Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire

The Marchesa  is a masterpiece.

The history is  impeccable , yet more impressive is the unerring sense of the tone, temperature and sensibility to the times and the pitch-perfect personalities playing on your stage. It returned me to smell of crumbling paper, the excitement of yet another tome.  I loved sinking into the past on every page and then returning — at the close of the archives — to the present and 500 years past

A tour de force,  totally absorbing, totally satisfying

Prof William Wallace, Michelangelo scholar and art history professor at Washington University. 

‘Dunant’s Isabella is a triumph — she is too ferocious, too alive to be a mere whisp of a ghost. Dunant gives her a brilliantly lively afterlife.’

Antonia Senior, The Times

‘Even without Dunant’s masterful storytelling skills, her life would provide enough material for a fascinating book.’

Literary Review

‘A captivating blend of art history, biography and fiction.’

Royal Academy Magazine