Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2007
448 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Narrated by Renoir and seven of the models and using settings in Paris and on the Seine, Vreeland illuminates the gusto, hedonism, and art of the era. With a gorgeous palette of vibrant, captivating characters, she paints their lives, loves, losses, and triumphs in a brilliant portrait of her own.
"Vreeland achieves a detailed and surprising group portrait, individualized and immediate. " - PW.
"Starred Review. [T]hree levels of "atmosphere" [swirl] through the pages of this riveting, complex novel: Renoir's issues in composing the painting, the separate and interconnected lives of the 14 individuals appearing in it, and the spirit of la vie moderne, the new modes of living, thinking, and expressing as conducted by the French arts community at the time." - Booklist.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan Vreeland is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including Clara and Mr. Tiffany and Girl in Hyacinth Blue. She died in August 2017 aged 71.
In her own words ....
Coming out of the Louvre for the first time in 1971, dizzy with new love, I
stood on Pont Neuf and made a pledge to myself that the art of this newly
discovered world in the Old World would be my life companion. Never had
history been more vibrant, its voices more resonating, its images more
gripping. On this first trip to Europe, I felt myself a pilgrim: To me, even
secular places such as museums and ruins were imbued with the sacred.
Painting, sculpture, architecture, music, religious and social history--I
was swept away with all of it, wanting to read more, to learn languages...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Susan Vreeland's Website
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