3.5 stars rounded up

This is a difficult book for me to review because it hit some good notes but not enough for me to really fall in love, and I wasn’t totally satisfied with the ending. The question of “what happened to famous painter Timothy Ponden-Hall” is the central thread of the book, and while there were some great twists and mysteries there, I also felt let down by certain elements that leaned towards the supernatural. There was some interesting stuff about mixed-race identity that I thought was well handled, and the art history buts in general were cool (as someone who knows less than nothing about art history). It’s an ensemble cast, but the relationships 18 year old Alice has with her father and her new friend were a highlight of the book, however they also weren’t tied up in a wholly satisfying way—Alice and her father spend the book not properly communicating about what they want, and I wish more resolution happened on page, where they actually dealt with the holes in their relationship.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was a slow starter and I very nearly gave up but perseverance paid off and I was rewarded with an interesting and enjoyable book. The story developed with a number of different themes including attitudes towards women and prejudices, not my usual sort of book but I would recommend it. My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC

An interesting and thought provoking read! Initially I found the book to be quite slow but the last half kept me captivated throughout with a great conclusion. 4/5

I just could not engage with this book. I'm sure it will suit some people, but I thought as an artist it would be right up my street. Sadly it wasn't. I couldn't find it in myself to care about what happened or the characters. I can't say why, however much I persevered I remained disinterested.

What a beautiful story. I was absolutely hooked from the second page and devoured this tale in a few sittings.

It has everything we might expect from a Victorian-era set tale, with their slightly strange obsession with phrenology, celebrity, mutton-chops, and bizarre leaps of faith about life, death and the afterlife.

Our main characters are Oaks, a professor in hiding following his oldest daughter's tragic death, his surviving daughter, Alice, and also Grace, a portrait sitter at the National Gallery. Oaks is somewhat pompous to begin with, very Victorian in his attitude, whereas Alice and Grace are certainly not. They're a slightly unconventional trio, and this is as much a story of their development as individuals as it is about uncovering Ponden-Hall's identity. And what a tangled web this proves to be. It is beautifully evocative and the ending, I feel, really does stand up to the rest of the tale.

I just really loved it, and I had to stop myself from turning to the back pages to discover the resolution from about 50% through the book. I'm glad I didn't give in and allowed the story to unfold as it was intended.

I don't read a huge number of more 'literary' fiction historical stories (I love a Golden Age cosy crime), but it had a similar 'feel' to Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver. Enjoy.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy. I will share my review on the blog when the book is released.

Art and deception. Set in the late Victorian era, the subject of this book is a mysterious painting and its provenance. It had been left outside the doors of the National Gallery in London. Professor Solomon Oak is called to give his opinion as to whether the was by the artist Ponden-Hall, a reclusive man thought to be long deceased. There are some interesting characters, such as artists’ model Grace and feisty Lou. As an art historian myself, I was interested to see how the artwork’s provenance was decided, but found the conclusion rather long-winded.

Reminiscent of other contemporary historical fiction authors, like Andrew Taylor and the husband-and-wife team writing as Ambrose Parry, Dani Heywood-Lonsdale is able to skilfully evoke the Victorian age through the way she uses language, locations, ambience and characters in the manner of a writer of the period, such as Anthony Trollope. Her novel, 'The Portrait Artist', is very clearly set in the era (the last decade of the 1800s, to be exact), yet given the modern perspective of looking back on it from the twenty-first century.

At the crux of the novel lie controversial topics, like race, discrimination and societal prejudice. Viewed from a twenty-first century viewpoint and through the lens of 'wokeness', Heywood-Lonsdale's handling of them is crude and lacks any degree of finesse or sensitivity. Some of the language used may have been acceptable in the seventeenth century, but in a contemporary context it is downright offensive. It seems a shame to have an otherwise competent novel spoiled in this way. Arguably, it should carry a trigger warning. I could see that some readers might find it an upsetting read. Furthermore, it could be said that the elements of mystery are not particularly well dealt with since I, for one, guessed who the portrait painter would turn out to be as soon as the character named, Lou, made her appearance. I'm sure other readers will be equally astute. Despite these shortcomings I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review his novel.

Many thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for the ARC.