#sponsor #partner
I’m always on the lookout for a new Erin Bartels book–I love her fascinating stories and characters. Once again, she’s created a world full of beauty; well, one world, anyway. The other has beauty along with pain and struggle. That’s my roundabout way of telling you that the wondrous The Lady with the Dark Hair is a dual-timeline novel. And it definitely lives up to its gorgeous cover! Keep reading for more on the book plus my review.
About The Lady with the Dark Hair
In two timelines–current day Michigan and 1879 France–Erin Bartels introduces readers to two women. Viviana is a servant (on the lowest rung) in the home of a Toulouse painter. When a misunderstanding places Viviana (or Vivienne, as she’s known there) into the role of model for Monsieur Renaud, she meets an unexpected turn to her destiny. And a talent she’d never known that she possessed. Unfortunately, she also has a secret that may threaten to destroy what she has gained.
In East Lansing, Esther Markstrom lives with her artist mother, as she has in the twenty years since she graduated college. She runs the fading museum bearing her family’s last name. She treasures the family history connecting her to a famous artist of the past; one of her forebears. And she cares for her mom, who struggles with mental health issues. The financial and emotional costs of this life have worn Esther down. Yet when a former professor of Esther’s comes to town, a journey begins that will reveal more than she’d have imagined.
My review
Identity. Women. Oh, and art, color, beauty; hidden pasts and secrets. All of that, and more, is what you’ll find in Erin Bartels’ The Lady with the Dark Hair.
How I loved stepping into the past, and experiencing the world of art and color as Viviana did. The words that describe them are as vivid as they actually are in real life: craquelure. Chrome yellow. Morisot. Monet. Cassatt. Ultramarine blue. Author Bartels recreates for readers the vivid world of Impressionism; and perhaps, what it was like for a woman who was attempting to make her way in a male-dominated field, in a time where women had little agency and personal power. Viviana is a compelling, irresistible character. And her secrets, and lack of power, still take her on journeys of courage, learning, and artistic accomplishment.
Modern-day Esther’s life isn’t immediately as colorful as Viviana; yet a thread connects them. Though Esther loves art and her family’s museum, her identity is comprised of caring for her mother Lorena, who’s had an incredibly difficult mental health diagnosis. Her father left them both, and a lack of funds prevents Esther from hiring mental health aides. So she’s frequently running from whatever she’s doing back home to check on her mom, who may or may not be suffering from symptoms.
And yet. Esther’s identity is based on much, much less than she has embraced. And before her is a journey which may just beckon her into a bigger life.
Enjoy! –Wren
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Revell Reads. All opinions shared here are my own.
finchnwren 