The MuseThe Muse
Odelle Bastien, a Caribbean âemigrâe living in London in 1967, discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent and vision whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. As she tries to sort through the conflicting stories of its discovery, she does not know who to believe, including her art gallery colleague, Marjorie Quick. The mystery surrounding the painting includes Olive Schloss, the daughter of a Viennese art dealer and English heiress, who lived in a small coastal Spanish village in 1936, just as Spain was heading into civil war; two illegitimate children of the local landowner, who become part of the Schloss family's lives; and deceit, lust, greed, and betrayal.--
A Caribbean immigrant in 1960s London and a bohemian woman in 1930s Spain are bound together by a painting rumored to be the work of a genius artist and the mystery surrounding his death. By the best-selling author of The Miniaturist. 100,000 first printing.
&;Love, war, desire, and art&;it&;s all here.&; &;Elle
A picture hides a thousand words . . .
On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. But though Quick takes Odelle into her confidence, and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery &; no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery.
The truth about the painting lies in 1936 and a large house in rural Spain, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harboring ambitions of her own. Into this fragile paradise come artist and revolutionary Isaac Robles and his half-sister Teresa, who immediately insinuate themselves into the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences . . .
Seductive, exhilarating and suspenseful, The Muse is an unforgettable novel about aspiration and identity, love and obsession, authenticity and deception &; a masterpiece from Jessie Burton, the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist.
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- New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2016]
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