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Laddar... Hold Stillav Cherry Smyth
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Fiction. Art History. HOLD STILL is set in 1860s London and Paris, and is a fictional account of a short period in the life of Joanna Hiffernan, the muse and model of both James Whistler and Gustave Courbet. Cherry Smyth has created an enthralling picture of what must have been a remarkable woman. How did a young girl, just seventeen when she met Jim Whistler, admittedly with beautiful red hair, and a vivid personality, inspire talented painters to create wonderful paintings: Whistler's Symphony in White, No.1: The White Girl and Courbet's La Belle Irlandaise which made their names? HOLD STILL tells the story from Jo's point of view. Her father instills in her a sense of self and Jo grows up to be a free spirit, a suffragette avant la lettre. Read HOLD STILL for an interpretation of Courbet's notorious The Origin of the World's genesis, with a highly plausible explanation of the absent head and face of the model. Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
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Flitting between the bohemian, intellectual circles of mid 19th-century Paris and London (a big tick location/time wise for any novel I might care to read), Smyth has harnessed her work as an art critic and curator to lend authenticity and vivacity to this fictionalised account of a remarkable woman’s life, an account that, as far as I can tell, seems as true to the real tale as we could possibly be. Certain moments throughout Jo’s dramatic, romantic tale can seem at odds with the image we have in our mind of a typical Victorian woman; displaying an independence of mind, body and spirit that we admire in our own, 21st-century selves:
‘ She is laughing, her body’s pleasure distilling into clarity and boldness, red as a matador’s cape. This is the fire she has stolen, the trail of bright flame, her own power.’
p.250
18750483Some modern authors may have a tendency to throw our modern attitudes and fancies onto their period characters without much thought. Although still living somewhat on the whims of the men she loves, Jo’s strength, intelligence and modernity seems genuine, a rejection of those ‘real women’ of a Dickensian persuasion who often seem a little too sensitive and fatalistic for their own good. Her modest beginnings could have spelt a very different life for her, much like that of her Bridget. Instead, Smyth has afforded us a glimpse into this woman’s exciting world. A world I wouldn’t really have had a clue about (despite an active interest in art) without reading this wonderfully entertaining novel. Much like Gallic Books, pioneering publishing house Holland Park Press have discovered a real gem in Cherry Smyth. All you lovers of fancy book covers place aside your shallow thoughts aside in favour of content. I promise you won’t be disappointed. ( )