The Second Duchess

Robert Browning's classic poem "My Last Duchess" provides the starting point for Loupas's winning debut set in Renaissance Italy. Barbara of Austria, the virgin bride of Alfonso d'Este, the fifth and last Borgia duke of Ferrara, has heard rumors that Alfonso murdered his first wife, but by marrying the duke she has escaped the convent as well as her controlling brother, Maximilian II. "Banquets and music, dancing and fashion, loving and loathing—everything is an art in Ferrara," one of the duke's sisters tells Barbara, who must carefully maneuver around the gossip about her predecessor, gossip that the duke has forbidden, as she seeks to establish herself at court. Meanwhile, spies lurk around every corner, ready to besmirch her reputation and standing. Readers will warm immediately to the clever, intelligent Barbara, while the demanding, sometimes brutal, Alonso makes an intriguing man of mystery. (Jan.)