The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
"Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. In response, Marlowe finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism. Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope."Mind you this picture of the book cover does not do it justice. It is stunning with gold embossed text, a unique matte paper cover, and a solid gold glossy spine. Once I laid eyes on it the attraction was magnetic.
I also received in the mail from the publisher "Claude and Camille" and I am pleased to say I got the second cover below. I like both covers and the first one is the final version. The one with the human people is the Arc.
"Behind every great artist stands a woman driving him to inspiration, aspiration, and desperation, according to Cowell (Marrying Mozart), who bases her latest novel about an artist and his muse on the life of Claude Monet. Beautiful bourgeoise Camille Doncieux leaves her family and fiancé for Monet, whom Cowell depicts early on as a rebellious young man trying to capture in his paintings fleeting moments of color and light before he matures into the troubled genius whose talent exceeds his income. In an art world resistant to change, Camille remains Monet's great love as he and fellow unknowns Renoir, Pissarro, and Bazille struggle to make ends meet, but, eventually, parenthood, financial pressure, long separations, career frustrations, and romantic distractions take their toll, and even after Monet finally achieves commercial success, the couple still faces considerable difficulty. While glimpses of great men at work make absorbing reading, it's Camille who gives this story its heart. A convincing narrative about how masterpieces are created and a detailed portrait of a complex couple, Cowell's novel suggests that a fabulous, if flawed, love is the source of both the beauty and sadness of Monet's art."
My sister also bought for me at a local rummage shop,The India Fan by Victoria Holt
Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt
Goodwill
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Elizabeth by David Starkey
Marie Antoinette, The Journey by Antonia Fraser
