Tag: historical fiction

Book Review: The Optickal Illusion by Rachel Halliburton

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The Optickal IllusionAbout the Book

It is 1797 and in Georgian London, nothing is certain anymore: the future of the monarchy is in question, the city is aflame with conspiracies, and the French could invade any day. Amidst this feverish atmosphere, the American painter Benjamin West is visited by a dubious duo comprised of a blundering father and vibrant daughter, the Provises, who claim they have a secret that has obsessed painters for centuries: the Venetian techniques of master painter Titian.

West was once the most celebrated painter in London, but he hasn’t produced anything of note in years, so against his better judgment he agrees to let the intriguing Ann Jemima Provis visit his studio and demonstrate the techniques from the document. What unravels reveals more than West has ever understood—about himself, the treachery of the art world, and the seductive promise of greatness. Rich in period detail of a meticulously crafted Georgian society, The Optickal Illusion demonstrates the lengths women must go to make their mark on a society that seeks to underplay their abilities.

Format: Hardcover (384 pp.)           Publisher: Duckworth Overlook
Published: 8th February 2018          Genre: Historical Fiction

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ  Hive.co.uk
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Optickal Illusion on Goodreads

My Review

The author has taken a real life scandal that enveloped the art world of London in the 1790s and fashioned it into an intriguing story of artistic rivalry, deception and debate about the position of women in society.

Much of the novel focuses on the attempts of Thomas Provis and his daughter, Ann Jemima, to sell a manuscript purporting to reveal the secret of the artist Titian’s famed use of colour. The Provis’s believe themselves adept in their own art form: negotiation. Indeed, Provis has passed on to Ann Jemima all he knows about interpreting other’s agenda and manipulating this knowledge to advantage. The ‘art of the deal’, you could say. As Ann Jemima reminds Thomas, “You have told me often enough that you can only make a great deal if you understand the desires of the person to whom you are selling.” However, it turns out they have underestimated the duplicity of others and how secrets from their past may provide an opening for those who would thwart them or manipulate them for their own purposes.

As Rachel Halliburton explains in her Historical Note, nothing is known of the real life Ann Jemima, but the author creates a plausible picture of a young woman, a gifted artist in her own right, constrained by the social rules of the time from receiving the recognition her talent deserves. In fact, there are many who decry the whole notion of the education of women. “On most women – and indeed on certain men – education is as wasted as an opium enema on a dog.” Ann Jemima’s frustration at being prevented from pursuing what she loves – and what she excels at – is palpable. She recalls the art lessons she received as a young girl as being ‘like the breath of life in a suffocating existence.’

As a counterpoint to this, there is a walk-on part for Mary Wollstonecraft, the renowned champion of women’s equality. Following Ann Jemima’s impressive demonstration of the method to members of the Royal Academy,  Mary perceptively observes that they are willing to believe in the authenticity of the manuscript because to do otherwise would credit Ann Jemima with superior artistic talent. As Mary says, “You mean that it is more acceptable that she has discovered something extraordinary, rather than that she is something extraordinary?”

I really enjoyed The Optickal Illusion and its evocation of a particular milieu of London society.  The philosophical debates and political turbulence of the period provide an additional interesting backdrop to the artistic shenanigans.  I confess it did need my full concentration to follow the chronology of the story given the frequent changes back and forth in time.

I received an advanced reading copy courtesy of publishers, Duckworth Overlook, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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In three words: Intriguing, well-researched, detailed

Try something similar…Crimson & Bone by Marina Fiorato (click here to read my review)

Rachel HalliburtonAbout the Author

Rachel Halliburton graduated in 1993 in English and Classics from Cambridge.  As a journalist for the past twenty years, and the former Deputy Editor of Time Out, she has interviewed notable people including President Gorbachev, Yoko Ono and Henry Kissinger for publications such as The Times, Financial Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Evening Standard and Independent.

She lives in London.

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Throwback Thursday: The Somme Legacy by M J Lee

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ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Renee at It’s Book Talk.  It’s designed as an opportunity to share old favourites as well as books that we’ve finally got around to reading that were published over a year ago.  If you decide to take part, please link back to It’s Book Talk.

Today I’m revisiting a book that I reviewed in the early days of my blog: The Somme Legacy by M J Lee, an intriguing genealogical mystery published in January 2017.  In fact, I believe the book’s blog tour was the first I ever took part in when I started blogging.

the-somme-legacy-cover-large-ebookAbout the Book

July 1, 1916. The Somme, France. A British Officer prepares to go over the top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

March 28, 2016. Manchester. England. Genealogical investigator Jayne Sinclair, a former police detective, is commissioned by a young teacher to look into the history of his family. The only clues are a medallion with purple, white and green ribbons, and an old drawing of a young woman.  Her quest leads to a secret buried in the trenches of World War One for over 100 years. Who was the real heir to the Lappiter millions? From the author of the best selling, The Irish Inheritance, comes a gripping new book revealing family secrets hidden in the fog of war.

Format: ebook (297 pp.)                       Publisher: 4th Estate
Published: 12th January 2017              Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Purchase Links*
Amazon.co.uk ǀ  Amazon.com
*links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programme

Find The Somme Legacy on Goodreads

My Review

The Somme Legacy is the second book in the Jayne Sinclair genealogical mystery series (the first being The Irish Inheritance) but it definitely works well as a stand-alone story.

Jayne takes on what seems an impossible case – not only finding the proof that will allow her client, Mark Russell, to submit a claim on the Lappiter estate but doing so in only seven days. After this, if unclaimed, the estate will pass to the Crown. The key to her client’s case is finding evidence of the marriage between Mark’s great grandfather, Captain David Russell, the eldest son of Lord Lappiter, and Rose Clarke – a marriage that all the records say never took place.  Despite the difficulties and in the face of opposition from Mark’s father, Jayne decides to take on the case.

Jayne is an engaging protagonist with an interesting back story. I particularly liked the relationship between Jayne and her father. You get the sense that she embraces the case as much to give her a sense of purpose again as for financial reward. In fact, Jayne begins to feel a real connection and, perhaps sense of female solidarity, with Rose Clarke.  ‘She was going to find out what happened to Rose Clarke, with or without the help of the Russells. She owed this woman something for all she had suffered in her fight for other women. Even now, over 100 years later, Jayne felt she could still right the wrongs of the past. It was why she did what she did.’

The book alternates between the present day search for evidence and the story of David and Rose from the time of their first meeting in 1913. I thought David and Rose were incredibly well-drawn, believable characters and there was a real sense of authenticity about the scenes set in the past, particularly the details of Rose’s involvement in the suffragette movement. In fact, David and Rose’s story would have made a good book in its own right!   I did feel that the characters (both in the past and present) trying to thwart the Russells’ claim tended a little bit towards the ‘pantomime villain’. Personally, I felt there was sufficient jeopardy created by the looming deadline.

The descriptions of the genealogical sources available and the mechanics of searching historical records had a real sense of authenticity. This story would be perfect for fans of Heir Hunters, Who Do You Think You Are or anyone who has either researched their family history or thought about doing so. Equally, it will appeal to lovers of historical fiction set during the First World War.

This was a very satisfying, entertaining story which resisted the temptation to provide a saccharine ending.  I received an advance reader copy courtesy of the author and Neverland Blog Tours in return for an honest review.

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In three words: Entertaining, well-researched, mystery

Try something similar… The Dream Shelf by Jeff  Russell (click here to read my review)

leeAbout the Author

Martin has spent most of his adult life writing in one form or another. As a University researcher in history, he wrote pages of notes on reams of obscure topics. As a social worker with Vietnamese refugees, he wrote memoranda. And, as the creative director of an advertising agency, he has written print and press ads, TV commercials, short films and innumerable backs of cornflake packets and hotel websites. He has spent 25 years of his life working outside the North of England – in London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, winning awards from Cannes, One Show, D&AD, New York and London Festivals, and the United Nations. Whilst working in Shanghai, he loved walking through the old quarter of that amazing city, developing the idea behind a series of crime novels featuring Inspector Pyotr Danilov, set in the 1920s and 30s. When he’s not writing, he splits his time between the UK and Asia, taking pleasure in playing with his daughter, practicing downhill ironing, single-handedly solving the problem of the French wine lake and wishing he were George Clooney.

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