THE
FRAUD
BY
BARBARA EWING
THE
BLURB:-
1763.
As candles flicker in the falling dust along Pall Mall, Filipo de
Vecellio, fêted portrait
painter from Florence, and his beautiful wife Angelica entertain the
cream of London's art world in their fashionable home, with Joshua
Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough among the guests, and William
Hogarth a disapproving observer.
Little
is known of Filipo's past or his family- except in the shadows sits
his sister, Francesca, who watches, and listens, and waits.
For
beneath the opulence and success, the house conceals a swarm of
dangerous secrets, corruption and lies. Filipo's ambition has meant
numerous, terrible sacrifices for Francesca but he is not the only
painter, nor the only one capable of fraud. And as the great wild
city of trade and business expands its grasping, avid tentacles, a
climax erupts involving love and passion- and the quiet sister who
has waited so long...
THE
REALITY:-
Art-
tick- I studied art before studying fashion, and still hold a
very big interest. London- tick- the city of my birth and
residence, and the place I feel truly at home. History- tick-
I always wished I had continued studying history after the third year
at school as I love it, but the teacher I had at the time, in his
mismatched outfits, bored me to death going over the Reformation time
and time again, so I dropped it. Mystique, lies and corruption-
tick- this book sounded like it ticked most of my boxes!
It
didn't, however, do that much for me. It was so put-down-able that I
actually managed to read another novel half way through this book,
and then come back to it! Although I was able to pick up the thread
very easily, I frequently speed-read parts, skimming through page
after page, like an errant student, in the places where the story
dragged (there were a lot of them). And I guess that was the
problem- the book was just too damn long winded.
The
characters and setting were believable, the style of writing original
and enchanting and the writer has certainly done her art and history
homework. I loved the parts where Grace/ Francesca spoke in the
first person, and the fact that a change of font differentiated
between her words and the main body of the story. I also felt
emotionally connected to her, liked her immorality, felt for her frustration, and sometimes
wanted to get into the novel and shake her, to try and force her to
stand up for herself. But I suppose her slyness was the whole basis
for the story, and I'm glad she kind of got a happy ending. I would
certainly give this author another go, but perhaps with trepidation.
