The Portrait Girl thrusts its bereaved and beleaguered heroine, jewellery designer Freya Wetherby, into an astonishing world of re-enacted Victorian art salons and the devious machinations of modern art theft.
Seeking the identity of a miniature portrait found in her late mother’s belongings, Freya becomes enraptured not only by this mysterious young woman but also by the hypnotic personality of art collector Ralph Merrick and his colourful entourage, including the dangerously attractive ‘Jack.’
Thoroughly researched, the milieu in which The Portrait Girl would have moved is beautifully rendered by Swengley, as are the artworks and jewellery designs imagined in the novel. Freya’s own contemporary world and circumstances form a dramatic backdrop to the seductive ‘time slip’ episodes, a mirage created by Merrick that draws her into his web.
Nicole Swengley is a highly regarded and experienced journalist who has written about art and design for titles such as The Times, Financial Times, the Telegraph, London Evening Standard and many others. A past student of the Faber Academy, Nicole has written non-fiction books for Collins and Adlard Coles, and has had several short stories published in magazines and anthologies. The Portrait Girl is her first full length work of fiction.
My thoughts: This was really fascinating and full of intrigue and secrets. Jewellery designer Freya finds an unusual piece of Victorian jewellery, a necklace hung with a miniature portrait of a young woman among her late mother’s things.
Is the woman in the painting a relative? And why is the art collector Ralph Merrick so very keen to acquire it for his collection?
Freya delves into the complicated relationships and lives of a group of Victorian artists, discovering the sad story behind the precious painting. It puts her in danger, as Merrick recreates the drawing room salons of the past, peopled with actors and other collectors, blurring the lines between reality and his version of the past.
I was absolutely hooked, the story weaves such an unusual and interesting narrative – women artists (and writers) so often lost their work and became lost themselves in the lives and work of the men around them – fathers, brothers, husbands. Emily is one of these lost women, her life a footnote in the Arts & Crafts movement she was part of.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 