Our local General Federation of Women's Clubs read this book and discussed it. The book was an engaging, graphic account of Artemisia. It gave the reader a deep sense of how it was to be a woman in the 1600's and how extraordinary this woman was. We then studied her paintings. The book gave us a deeper appreciation and understanding of the paintings as we discussed where she was when she painted it, how she made her color choices, who her patrons were and how the painting evolved. This was a wonderful book.

Perhaps because I am an artist I chose to recommend this book to our book club. Since no one else had any objection it was agreed upon and subsequently, each woman has called to thank me for a wonderful read.... and we haven't had our "book talk" yet! It's a wonderfully written book, meticulously researched and powerfully evocative of the strength of Artemesia Gentileschi; the first woman admitted to the Academia in Florence. The descriptions of the paintings and their construction are fantastic. A great little book!