I adored B.A. Shapiro's The Art Forger and so I was excited to read another art-museum based book. I'm extremely familiar with the Barnes Foundation (I think you have to be in order to have a job in a museum, on some level) and I think in someways that hurt me from enjoying this book. Overall the romance aspect was a bit of a turnoff, the conman aspect was confusing towards the end and felt distracting from the more interesting court room parts. Overall really enjoyable but not the love affair I had with Art Forger.

B. A. Shapiro is an amazing author historical thriller/mystery writer. Author of author The Art Forger and The Muralist she delivers a 1920's art scene thriller with a wide creative brush.

Shapiro is an excellent writer, a master of historical fiction. I loved how she integrated historical figures into the plot. I found the storyline to be intriguing and suspenseful and the ending completely satisfying.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Algonquin Books, and B. A. Shapiro for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I had yet to read a book published by Algonquin Books that I dislike—it is one of those publisher's that releases consistent quality novels and I couldn't resist reading this when I saw it available. The Collector's Apprentice is a captivating historical fiction set in the 1920s, the art and crime world colliding to surround the reader with love, suspense, and even murder.

Young Paulien Mertens inadvertently causes her family ruin when they invest in her fiance’s Ponzi scheme. Cast out and penniless, Paulien reinvents herself as Vivienne Gregsby and soon becomes the assistant to an eccentric American art collector, Dr. Edwin Bradley. As the two of them work together to build his gallery, Paulien/Vivienne crosses paths with Henri Matisse, Gertrude Stein, and other members of the Post-impressionist art world. The story of Vivienne’s redemption is intermixed with flashes of the future, when she’s on trial for the murder of Dr. Bradley. Overall, I liked this book, but didn’t enjoy the back and forth between present day, the past when she first got involved with the con artist, and the future where she’s on trial.

A fascinating book that delves into the worlds of art, collecting, murder, and the drama of the 1920s. The 'historical reality and the fictional reality are intertwined. You meet characters as diverse as Matisse and Picasso, Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein. Paulien Mertens is a young, disgraced Belgian art-lover trying to make her own way in Paris after innocently causing great financial disaster to her family when her 'fiancé' ends up being a con-man and fraud. Paulien meets a wealthy American art collector and becomes his apprentice as she shares her love and knowledge of art, particularly the impressionists and post-impressionists. He hires her to assist in developing his vision of a museum in his hometown of Philadelphia. The story evolves into art stories and love stories and stories of fraud, crime, and even murder. Some of the consequences of action seemed a bit far-fetched. The book is based on a fictionalized account of the Barnes Collection. I found it a quick and engaging read. It will be interesting to read a non-fictional account of the fascinating Barnes Collection and the people behind it.

I'm tired of alternating timelines and really wish they weren't used so often in historical fiction these days. With this book, the multiple, alternating timelines seemed more like a gimmick and did nothing to build the story.

I enjoyed the beginning but then things started to rush and the story lost its charm.

For instance, Vivienne finally sees her ex and in about half a page she discovers that he is not who she thought and sends him away. I was expecting a little more drama to the moment.

If you love impressionism (or post) you will enjoy this book.

I just got bored, maybe because of the 3 storylines: present (how the story started), near past (how Vivienne made it to the US and found herself in the situation she was in), and distant past (how Vivienne met her fiance before she became poor and met the collector who brought her to the US). Ah! And I also saw some chapters about Vivienne's ex and his activities which I didn't care about.

I like historical fiction and enjoyed the writing; the story, unfortunately, didn't hold my interest.

A wonderfully researched and compelling novel with a powerful suspense heartbeat, perfect for anyone fascinated with art.

This is my first B.A. Shapiro novel and it did not disappoint. The novel takes place throughout the twenties, switching point of views and going between first and third person depending on the narrator. If you are into impressionist artists, the roaring twenties and some mystery/con artists, you will enjoy this book!

It was slow to start but once everyone is introduced, the plot starts to pick up. Paulien grows from an innocent teen into a woman who knows what she wants and tries to obtain it any way she can. A note that this is a historical fiction, so toxic masculinity is demonstrated throughout the book but the main male characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed B. A. Shapiro’s novel “The Muralist.” The plot and characters stuck with me for a long time. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. Shapiro is back with another art-centered novel, “The Collectors Apprentice.” It’s not as good as “The Muralist,” but it’s still a good read. The basis for this novel was inspired by Albert Barnes who created the collection currently housed by the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.

The story takes place between 1922 and 1929. In the Belgium countryside during 1922, nineteen-year-old Paulien Mertens has been banished from her home after he fiancé, George, pulled a conducted a major Ponzi scheme on her family which costs them millions in stolen art.

Paulein goes to Paris, but she is alone and broke. She must reinvent herself, and she does so by taking the name Vivienne Gregsby. She manages the connected with the art world, but her biggest fear is that someone will recognize her as Paulien. Her family had been big collectors. She and her father had planned to open a museum. Her main goal is to return her father’s art collection

Now rubbing elbows with the art-elite, Vivienne must be careful not to appear as knowledgeable as she is. One of the artists whom she becomes friends with is Henri Matisse and the two become romantically involved. One of the people she meets is an eccentric and wealthy American art collector, Edwin Bradley.

Edwin, inspired by the newly-created Vivienne, hires her to help him gobble up as much art as he can---paintings, sculptures, drawings—and take them to Philadelphia where he is building his post-Impressionist museum. In a twist of fate, Edwin now owns the seven paintings that Vivienne is desperate to retrieve.

Then George, who now goes by Benjamin, is trying to get back into Paulein/Vivienne’s life so that he can swindle Edwin.

Winding through the plot are chapters simply labeled “The Trial” and are in an all-italics font. This serves to create that dueling timeline that is plot’s structure. It took a while, but eventually I figured out that Paulein/Vivienne is on trial for Edwin’s murder!

The book went into a little too much, for my taste, about studying art, its lines, shapes, colors, etc. It also went a little too much in Matisse’s life, which I’m not sure if it is fiction or fact. Therefore, “The Collector’s Apprentice” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world

I enjoyed the Art Forger so much and was looking forward to Shapiro’s latest work and perhaps it my level of expectation that jaded me, but whereas I was sympathetic to the forger in her first book, I found no likable characters in this one. Vivienne’s rich parents were more in love with their money and lifestyle than their daughter, and when she needed them, they cast her out. Vivienne goes into survival mode, developing her art appreciation skills and also honing her skills of using other people.

Vivienne’s con-man lover was the lowest of the low. I admired Shapiro’s development of his character far more than I liked him. She was successful in making me loath him. I absolutely didn’t believe his avowals as a changed man, changed by love. A leopard doesn’t change his spots!

The thing I absolutely love about Shapiro’s books is her knowledge of art and art works, skillfully woven into the narrative, reminding me of my art history classes. The book is brilliant, but I didin’t get much pleasure out of all the cons out-conning, conniving and scheming. I did love the sense of place that Shapiro delivered, both in Philadelphia and in Paris - an art lover’s thriller. Thanks NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read this.

Paulien Mertens, a young woman from a distinguished family, finds herself alone and penniless in Paris 1922. Her fiancé bilked her family and friends out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme and believing she played a part in the deception her family disinherits her. Although innocent of any duplicity, she must rebuild her life by reinventing herself with a new name Vivienne Gregsby. She meets a wealthy art collector named Edwin Bradley from America who needs an interpreter to help him on his art buying trip. Using some of the skills her former fiancé used, she manages to manipulate Edwin into buying her family's most cherished paintings and becomes his invaluable assistant when he travels back to America to build his own art museum.
I wanted very much to like Paulien/Vivienne but she seemed to be an entitled whiny young woman who can't see past her own desires to restore her family's paintings to them which she believes will earn their forgiveness. Her indifferent treatment of her benefactor Edwin, who is secretly in love with her, is very cold and callous. She only shows real emotion when she's with Henri Matisse or gazing at the artwork around her.
Although I thought this book was okay, I would recommend it to my fellow book lovers so they can form their own opinions about it.

In The Collector’s Apprentice, B.A. Shapiro continues her series of standalone novels of fictionalized art history. This novel draws its inspiration from the life and work of art collector Alfred Barnes, though it puts the focus on the woman modelled on Barnes’ assistant. It also condenses and sensationalizes events to deliver a thrilling story of murder, inheritance, and the Post-Impressionist revolution.

The Collector’s Apprentice covers three periods in the life of Paulien Mertens, alias Vivienne Gregsby. In 1929, she is on trial for the murder of her mentor and employer, Dr. Edwin Bradley. In 1922, she is on the streets of Paris, trying to make a living after being cast out by her family. In 1920, she is falling in love in London with a man who we learn, over the course of the novel, is responsible for ruining her life.

All Paulien/Vivienne wanted was to run a museum. As the daughter of a Belgian industrialist who dared to go against general tastes to collect Post-Impressionist works of art, Paulien dreams of creating her own museum. She is deeply in love with the emotional expressiveness of the new art coming out of France, with its bold colors and unorthodox primitiveness. But after getting engaged to a conman who destroyed the finances of dozens (and drove one man to suicide), no one will hire Paulien and her family has kicked her out. It’s only after she changes her name and is hired to translate for American art collector Bradley that she starts to rise again. The chapters set in 1929 and the reappearance of Paulien’s fiancé, George, make it clear that there are more bumps in the road head.

The Collector’s Apprentice is as much in love with Post-Impressionism as Paulien is. There are numerous scenes in which Paulien gets to mingle with the brightest lights in Paris. She has dinner at Gertrude Stein‘s house. She swoons for Henri Matisse. She gets to scour Paris for the latest, most daring paintings and sculptures. This book is so full of references to art and artists that readers who aren’t familiar with the Post-Impressionists will want to run to Wikipedia to get caught up. Even readers who are familiar with the art will probably want to refresh their memories. The descriptions of the works of art and their meaning are very evocative, but mere words can’t really capture the colors and sense of movement in a painting like Dance II.

On the other hand, it takes a while for the cat-and-mouse game to steal the show. It wasn’t until the end of the novel that I understood why George kept showing up. I kept wanting to yell at Paulien for the way she keeps letting him manipulate her or her first feeble attempts to use him. But once the plot moves away from the art world and Paulien’s battles of will with her mentor and the mystery takes over, I loved reading about the twists and turns Paulien and George’s relationship.

The Collector’s Apprentice has much to recommend itself to readers, especially readers who also enjoy art. Paulien’s journey from naif to connoisseur and (possibly) con artist is a delight to watch. The best parts, for me, were at the end, when Paulien is at her greatest peril. I enjoyed the ekphrastic sections, but the thriller/mystery plot hooked me completely.

The Collector's Apprentice beautifully blends history, art, and thrilling fiction to create a novel that had me on edge, while also in love with the beautiful imagery and descriptions of the art and artists of the impressionist era. I really enjoyed the main character's complexity along with her complex relationships with her family, George, Henri, and Edwin. The flashbacks to the trial are very well done and had me guessing despite, to an extent, already being told the ending. Overall a very well done book and one that I look forward to recommending to others.

Beautifully wriiten historcial msytery, filled withthe perfect blend of art, scandal. betrayal. Loved the Art Forger, and Shapiro has done it again for me.

Excellent historical fiction! Shapiro has outdone The Art Forger with this work. Wonderful portrayal of the 1920s.

Another great work of historical fiction about art by Shapiro. Book groups will be clamoring for this.

I love Shapiro's books. She makes art very accessible in her novels and I always wish she had photographs of the paintings she mentions. I loved Vivenne's story and the back and forth between the trial and her past. I loved even more when the two stories came together before you thought they might. She is such a strong character. I enjoyed the peppering of real people into the storyline, Gertrude Stein and Henri Matisse. It made me wonder how much was true. A great slow burn mystery.

Schemers and scoundrels hide and blend behind the scenes like the blurred textures within an art masterpiece. Within time, though, the eyes focus more readily and true colors are ultimately revealed.

It's 1922 at a small estate in Belgium and we find Paulien Mertens lost in the pangs of love. Her nineteen years on this earth don't adequately prepare her for the waves of ill-intent by one George Everard. George has presented her with a sizable engagement ring. But what doesn't ring true are his shifty ways. Paulien convinces her father into investing with ol' George. The aftermath leaves the Mertens family without their art nor their fortune.

Cast out by her angry family, Paulien heads to Paris. She is forced to reinvent herself including her own name. While keeping ahead of scandal, Paulien becomes Vivienne Gregsby. With very few coins in her handbag, Vivienne rents a tiny rundown apartment. She takes on new employment while working in a millinery shop, becoming a waitress, an art model, and eventually a translator. But this last option will open a heavy door that will drastically change Vivienne's life forever.

Vivienne will meet Dr. Edwin Bradley, an American art collector who wishes to deal with avant-garde galleries. B.A. Shapiro intermixes her story with the likes of Henri Matisse and actual historical figures of the day as Bradley employs Vivienne to assist him in acquiring a high-end collection. We will found ourselves in the salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas as well. Shapiro develops Vivienne with a fine-tuned artistic sensibility. As Bradley's collection grows, so does Vivienne's desire to re-engage with her family's lost art. She also wishes to once again connect with the conniving George. But will this ambition be her eventual downfall?

I enjoyed The Collector's Apprentice as Shapiro wraps it in true artistic appreciation. But Shapiro also adds heavy brushstrokes of human greed and desire. Her characters take on a different hue when placed in iffy situations. My favorites of Shapiro are still The Muralist and The Art Forger. You may want to check these out as well. Shapiro is a master at blending the art world with the art of fiction.

I received a copy of The Collector's Apprentice through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Algonquin Books and to B.A. Shapiro for the opportunity.