What do readers think of The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson? Write your own review.

THE PARIS WINTER by Imogen Robertson is a most interesting story with captivating characters and writing filled with vivid description. I felt I was on a trip to early 20th century Paris! The book opens November of 1909 in Pigalle, Paris with the suicide of art student Rose Champion. When the news arrived at the women's art studio, an excellent portrayal of reactions of the reactions of the students catches the reader's attention immediately.

The early chapters filled with thoughts of the students involved with Rose provided active description of character and brought immediate emersion into the story, life style, and action.

The reader should expect plot twists, mystery, and surprise along with well drawn characters involved in a great story of historical fiction.

While this book started out slowly, I was hooked by the end. The author describes everything in detail, sometimes a bit too much for my taste, but it certainly leaves you with a vivid picture of Paris in the early 1900s. After the slow start, the plot really picks up, and I found it difficult to put down. This is a good book for anyone who likes historical fiction and mysteries!

The story is about a young English girl, Maude Heighton, studying art in Paris during the winter of 1909-1910 and the people she meets who will become a part of her new life. The story moved slowly requiring a little patience then developed into a fast moving mystery. If you are a reader who thinks ahead as you read, predicting the outcome, then you will be in for a surprise because there are many twists and turns. This book will make an excellent choice for Book Clubs with its large cast of characters and personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

A well-researched historical novel with elements of a thriller mystery leads the reader into the lives of different social classes during the Belle Époque age. The burgeoning affluence, artistic splendor, and social changes cannot hide the squalor and social inequalities as the sinister plot unfolds. Characters are vividly portrayed and events described in relation to paintings makes reading a pictorial experience. The Great Paris Flood provides the backdrop for the plot climax and the detailed description creates a strong sense of place and time. A novel that has elements of different genres: historical fiction, thrillers, and mysteries, will be enjoyed by many readers.

I wanted to love this book as I love Paris and art, but having just finished Tartt's "The Goldfinch" the writing just does not compare. Both stories are totally out there with their premise, and as much as the author did well with the characters, especially Maud, I had a difficult time getting through some of this book as it was too unbelievable. I would almost classify this as a good 'summer read'. Not objectionable, but there are too many well written books out there.

This was one of those books I couldn't put down, except to hit my computer to help me discover what life was really like in Paris of 1909-1910. What I found in my research was that I was receiving a colorful, accurate description of Paris during that winter of those years from the author Imogen Robertson. The heroines (and I believe there are three, Maud, Tanya and Sylvie) are believable and extremely likable. Friendships form at a realistic pace. Relationships come and go as trust builds and then sometimes wanes through the characters believable experiences with one another and their environment. The real mystery doesn't begin until close to half-way through the book, but by that point the reader is engrossed in the life of the city, of the rich, of the poor and of the woman trying to make a mark, on their own, in the art community of 1909. The author uses descriptions of paintings (written in "museum sounding" terms and said to be from the de Civray Collection, Southwark Picture Gallery, London, 2010) as a transition from one chapter to the next. My assumed meaning of these paintings changes in a fascinating surprise when revealed. The collection is fictional (it sounded so real I was "forced" to leave my reading to check this out on Google also) but the paintings became very real in my mind. An attempted murder, these paintings existing in the future, a woman seeking revenge and a truly sociopathic couple create a second half of the book so gripping that I found myself carrying the book into the kitchen to read while I prepared dinner. I couldn't put it down! And the ending didn't disappoint. Every unbelievable strand became believable as characters' backgrounds and idiosyncrasies were revealed. There were a couple of times I might have moaned a little at the innocence of Maud, but in reality, she probably very accurately depicted a well bred young English woman of her period in history. Great job Ms. Robertson

Paris Winter focuses on a group of women artists in 1909 Paris. It was a very difficult life chosen by women driven by their passion for art. Although several artists and models make up this tale, the heroine is Maud. A young , well-bred English girl who only wants to live in the world of art. The story begins telling us her journey into this life. However, what makes this book so good, is where she goes and what happens after she is studying in Paris. I do not do spoilers. Let's just say that she is involved in intrigue and terror before she realizes what is happening. Although the art is a main part of the tale, it is the mysterious goings-on that make this a suspenseful read. Before I knew it, I couldn't put this down. Nor did I want to.
This would be a great book group read.

This particular book had me riveted from chapter one. It was very difficult to put this book down after beginning the story. Anyone who has a passion for historical fiction would really enjoy this novel. The author did an incredible job of keeping the reader wanting more chapter by chapter. When starting the story, it took a whole other turn into suspense and intrigue that wasn't expected. I was expecting to learn more of Rose from chapter one, but the story moved on without her being a part of the suspense. I believe this book would be excellent for book club discussion. There are so many different areas of the story that could be discussed to get other's opinions on what they would of done in that particular circumstance. I loved the way the author brought the flood of 1910 into the story. It just added to the intrigue of what was going to happen. The way the author used the portrait descriptions as a lead in to the chapter kept your interest as to where the story was leading.