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Reviews
Halliburton adroitly satirizes the political machinations of Georgian London and explores issues of authenticity and originality as they relate to artistic creation. . . The novel's expansive, colorful canvas contains many delights, particularly for those interested in art history and theory., This tale of an art con, based on a true event, reads like an eighteenth-century version of The Sting, growing in tension as it accelerates to its conclusion, adeptly using nonlinear narrative structure. Immersive, entertaining, and recommended., A bold and determined woman struggles to forge her identity in a world where women figure only in the background of events. Halliburton's debut is a vibrant portrait of an age of political and artistic revolution as well as a gripping story., Utterly absorbing . . . Halliburton builds up the layers of deception,ambition, and scandal into a shimmering, fully textured portrait of GeorgianLondon with all its gloss, dross, glamour, and corruption., Halliburton adroitly satirizes the political machinations of Georgian London and explores issues of authenticity and originality as they relate to artistic creation. . . . The novel's expansive, colorful canvas contains many delights, particularly for those interested in art history and theory., The research is impeccable. The reader becomes totally immersed in the society and culture of the time: clothes, speech, idioms, descriptions of place all serve to help the reader imagine the scenes. Key themes are the nature of art, the question of identity, and the role of women, specifically how female artists have been painted out of history, denied recognition despite talent. Of course, this is a theme which is very much still resonant today. . . . A novel to savor . . . [for] fans who enjoyed literary novels such as Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries and Sarah Perry's The Essex Serpent., Written with a detail and often a lyricism that makes me go back and rereadfor the pleasure of it. I am drawn into the history and vibrancy of color asnever before. I see more intensely, and that is a great gift to have been given., A remarkable true story of vanity and delusion, which Halliburton turnsinto a gripping and only partly fictional whodunnit . . . brings the artistsand their art to colorful life and brushes in streaks of feminism, via MaryWollstonecraft, as well as dark shadows of the French Revolution.
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Synopsis
The stunning debut novel brimming withenvy, lust, and corruption at the heart of eighteenth century London's artworld, In her vividly fashioned debut novel The Optickal Illusion , Rachel Halliburton draws from the sordid details of a genuine scandal that deceived the British Royal Academy to deliver a stirring tale on the elusive goal of achieving artistic renown. 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., In this vividly fashioned debut, Rachel Halliburton draws from the sordid details of a genuine scandal that deceived the British Royal Academy to deliver a stirring tale on the elusive goal of achieving artistic renown.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.
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