Description
From the Inside Flap It's 1967 and Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. She takes a job at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art and is taken under the wing of the mesmerizing and mysterious Marjorie Quick. When Odelle discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles--a Spanish artist whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades--she finds herself drawn into a complex web of secrets and deceptions. The truth about the painting lies in rural Spain, 1936, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harboring ambitions of her own. Olive grows close to Teresa, a young housekeeper, and Teresa's half brother, Isaac Robles, a painter buoyed by the revolutionary fervor that will soon erupt into civil war. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss family's lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come. In vividly rendered detail, acclaimed and bestselling author Jessie Burton spins a tale of desire, ambition, and how the tides of history inevitably shape and define our lives. --Glamour UK --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. England, 1967. Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. While working at a prestigious gallery, she discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young, talented artist whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. Drawn into a web of secrets and deceptions, Odelle does not know what to believe—or who she can trust. Spain, 1936. Olive Schloss, the daughter of an art dealer and an English heiress, follows her parents to an impoverished village on the southern coast. She grows close to Teresa, a young housekeeper, and Teresa’s half-brother Isaac, an idealistic painter buoyed by the revolutionary fervor that will soon erupt into civil war. When Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents, it causes devastating consequences that echo into the decades to come. From the internationally bestselling author of The Miniaturist comes a brilliantly realized story of two young women and the powerful mystery that ties them together. Rendered in exquisite detail, The Muse is an enthralling tale of desire, ambition, and the ways in which the tides of history inevitably shape and define our lives. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. “Fantastic novel. . . . [Burton’s] descriptions of everything from clothing and subway stops to social norms seem so consistently accurate that the relevance of the time period fades into the background.” -- <em>Maclean’s</em>“A complex, vividly drawn tale . . . about creative freedom, finding one’s voice, and the quest for artistic redemption.” -- Publishers Weekly “Readers who enjoy mystery, psychological drama, historical fiction, art, and intrigue will find much to enjoy in The Muse . Burton’s double story itself is deliciously more than the sum of its parts.” -- <em>Washington Independent Review of Books</em>“Burton creatively infuses historical fiction with mystery in her exploration of the far-reaching consequences of deception, the relationship between art and artist, and the complex trajectory of women’s desires.” -- Booklist “A simmering historical love story.” -- Glamour (UK)“A tale with a refreshingly feminist slant, interested in the slipperiness of meaning.” -- Daily Mail (UK)“[A] rich palette of ideas and emotions. . . . The novel excellently explores the writing process itself.” -- Independent (UK)“Burton’s devotion to her female characters sustains the novel. . . . Fans will be happy to reunite withxa0her committed storytelling.” -- <em>Kirkus Reviews</em>“Burton emerges as the architect of a well-structured and intricate plot with tremendous scope, and a stylist with a talent for recreating life’s ordinary and extraordinary moments alike in great splashes of colour. . . .xa0Riveting and deeply intimate.” -- <em>Financial Times</em> --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Jessie Burton studied at Oxford University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, and now lives in southeast London, not far from where she grew up. --This text refers to the audioCD edition. Read more
Features & Highlights
- From the #1 internationally bestselling author of
- The Miniaturist
- comes a captivating and brilliantly realized story of two young women—a Caribbean immigrant in 1960s London, and a bohemian woman in 1930s Spain—and the powerful mystery that ties them together.
- England, 1967. Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. When she starts working at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art, she discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles, a young artist of immense talent and vision whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades. The excitement over the painting is matched by the intrigue around the conflicting stories of its discovery. Drawn into a complex web of secrets and deceptions, Odelle does not know what to believe or who she can trust, including her mesmerizing colleague, Marjorie Quick.
- Spain, 1936. Olive Schloss, the daughter of a Viennese Jewish art dealer and an English heiress, follows her parents to Arazuelo, a poor, restless village on the southern coast. She grows close to Teresa, a young housekeeper, and Teresa’s half-brother, Isaac Robles, an idealistic and ambitious painter newly returned from the Barcelona salons. A dilettante buoyed by the revolutionary fervor that will soon erupt into civil war, Isaac dreams of being a painter as famous as his countryman Picasso.
- Raised in poverty, these illegitimate children of the local landowner revel in exploiting the wealthy Anglo-Austrians. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss family’s lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come.
- Rendered in exquisite detail,
- The Muse
- is a passionate and enthralling tale of desire, ambition, and the ways in which the tides of history inevitably shape and define our lives.
