Ida is a talented artist in Boston in 1898. After family tragedies she is wooed and marries Ezra. But she is left running their sheep farm alone more and more as Ezra is gone with his partner Mose. She is widowed and faces the reality that her family money is gone and the farm she is on belongs to Ezra’s Aunt Ruth. It follows the story as she tries to make a life for herself and return to the artist she once was. The time period is interesting as Ida scandalously learns to ride a bike giving her some freedom on the island. The issue of women’s right to vote gets some mention too. The story is
slow moving.

Painting the Light is beautifully rendered and atmospheric. Ida is no shrinking violet; she is strong, capable, and spirited with a powerful talent. She doesn’t buckle under the criticism of the townspeople when she wears trousers, rides a bike, makes her own decisions about the farm… and falls in love. In short, she is captivating. It is an absorbing read in a bucolic setting with interesting twists. One thing I know for sure – sheep farming is not for me! 4 stars.

Publication Date: June 2021
Genre: Historical fiction
Read-alikes: Emily’s House by Amy Belding, You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley, Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict, The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

Gratifying read!

I was somewhat tentative about Ida Pease’s story at the start. By the time I reached the last page I was utterly enthralled, at moments aghast, although rarely relieved.
Set in Martha’s Vineyard in the early twentieth century, Ida is a gifted portrait painter who before her forlorn marriage had gained a place at the Museum of Fine Arts School, Boston. Ida’s painting time slides away after she marries Ezra. During her marriage she’s devolved into a much put upon wife, a sheep farmer and unpaid worker, an unappreciated daughter-in-law, and finally a widow. Widowhood brings about both ownership rights problems and economic struggles. Ida discovers the scam artist her dead husband was. Her mother-in-law is a rigid tyrant. Idea grows into herself, a woman who seeks to find her voice in a society against women’s rights, and a cyclist—a gift bringing newly appreciated freedom, which includes a repositioned passion for painting.
As Ida slowly uncovers the degree of deceptiveness practised by her husband and his partner Mose Barstow, she comes into contact with Mose’s brother Henry. They work on unravelling both estates. Again more shocks! It’s Henry who introduces Ida to bicycles. Despite his assistance it’s up to Ida to make her own way as she wades through a mountain of deception, of opportunity and rejection.
Ida swirls. She’s coherent and incoherent. Sure of herself and then awkward. Too willing to appease others, scared to trust herself and closed off. Watching Ida grow is both exhausting and exhilarating. Her struggles giveaway to self awareness and renewed directions. There’s pathos and lost moments, alongside enlightening and delightful vignettes. A surprisingly satisfying dénouement.

A William Morrow and Custom House ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

As a Rhode Island resident for over 37 years, (my first 18 years were in on the nearby Connecticut shoreline), I discovered Sally Gunning as a mystery writer when the local newspaper featured an article on her. She graduated from a local high school and we enjoyed reading something by a 'local,' although we knew she was now living on Cape Cod.

Years later we discovered she has turned her skills to historical fiction. This new one is another fascinating look at a woman at the turn of the 19th century. It's 1898 when we meet Ida Pease, a painter now turned sheep farmer on Martha's Vineyard, She is orphaned and then widowed. Her journey to reclaim her skill as a painter and find a place for a women like her is an interesting one to take.

Martha's Vineyard, 1890s. Ida Russell, up and coming watercolorist from Boston Museum School, trades her future for life with Ezra Pease, a farmer and salvage operator. She soon discovers she has not made a good trade. Her life is hard and about to become harder when Ezra and his partner, Mose, are both lost at sea in a terrible storm. Ida is forced to become the farmer and tender of the sheep flock; she discovers Ezra did not even own the farm, therefore, she is left at the mercy of Aunt Ruth, a bitter harridan, who is Ida's closest neighbor.

Mose's brother, executor of the estate, tries to help as much as he can, but this is the 1890s and society has some very restrictive rules for men and women. He lends her a bicycle, she learns to ride, and from that point on, her life starts to change. Riding her bicycle around the island, carrying her artist supplies, she starts to sketch and draw again, and rediscover who she really is. Following a meeting with Julia Ward Howe, she becomes an avowed suffragist, which endears her to very few people on the island.

The supporting characters in this book are interesting, and in some cases, colorful, individuals. Hattie, subject to her mother's tyranny, is to be pitied. Lem, the occasional hired hand, is a rock-solid friend. The thread that runs through the story and helps tie it all together, is the sheep flock, the lambing, shearing, putting up hay, weathering storms.

Great historical fiction, and a nice slice of Martha's Vineyard as it was becoming a tourist haven.

Lovely story of a young woman left all alone - twice. Her decisions, how they change her and the woman she becomes.

Great story of loss and love, with lots of sheep thrown in.

Definitely worth the read.

I love character-driven novels and this story about Ida who is married to Ezra and helping him on his Martha’s Vineyard farm. It is the early 20th century. Ida had pictured this to be a place when she could pursue drawing and painting. Two years into the marriage, Ida discovers she made too hasty a decision to marry such a cold, distant man. Often left alone when her husband salvages ships, she becomes self-sufficient and independent. When is presumed that her husband died in a ship wreck she’s not sad. Descriptions of the landscape show the artist’s perspective and Ida herself is such a engaging personality so that the reader will think about this book long after being red.

Great historical fiction. Loved Ida and loved the suffragette sub plot. I was happy with the ending.

Martha’s Vineyard, 1898. Ida Russell attended Boston’s renowned Museum School, making her mark in watercolor. But once she arrives on the island and becomes Ida Pease, the married life becomes her destruction. Even the island’s serene landscape doesn’t help in continuing her passion. Suddenly, everything changes in an instant as her husband is among those who were on a ship bound for Boston, which crashes and all are presumed dead.

In flashbacks the story reveals how she meets her husband, which collides with the time when she is grieving a loss of her family. How quickly they drift apart and why. The peace that she saw in island’s descriptions presented by her husband while trying to woo her, quickly washes away. When she married her husband, she didn’t know much about him. And when the waters claim his life, it turns out that she didn’t learn much more about him while married to him. She is left pretty much penniless and that propels her to figure out how she can survive as an independent woman. Not only that, there are things that her husband didn’t reveal to her in hopes to fix them in certain time, which was cut short. And now, she is forced to deal with the consequences.

During this time, she hears about Julia Ward Howe making progress in suffrage movement which is on the rise. With such veracious leadership, women are voting in more states. It gives her an inspiration to rally the women on the island and fight for women’s right to vote. However, this is a very minor part of this story.

When she finds a respite in learning how to ride a bicycle, it unsettles some as what others may think of a married man teaching Ida to bike and her skirts flying around. Nevertheless, this gives her much needed freedom in a sense, which further opens her eyes to the beauty of the island and the colors, which further reawakes her passion for painting. Once feeling isolated and helpless, now she sees the island in a different perspective.

The story is character driven with well-defined place of rolling hills, dotted with sheep, and meeting the sea - a place where an artist can find an inspiration. The protagonist goes through that stage of awakening, where her vision is blurred at first, but then she starts seeing colors. The story takes time in revealing details of Ida’s life and her progression to become an independent woman and her finding the way back to her artistic side. It is written with a beautiful prose which makes you stay attached to the story.

Review originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com

In 1898 women were fighting for the right to vote. Imagine a time when men made all the choices and women were less than equal. Ida Russell is a rising talent in the Museum School in Boston, but her personal life is lonely and sad. Her father and brothers drowned in an accident at sea. Her mother dies soon after. Ida is left alone with no safety net. As she struggles with her grief, she meets Ezra who charms her into marriage. He moves her to his sheep farm on Martha’s Vineyard where newcomers are not so welcome. Ezra’s family is not the warm and loving family that Ida needs. She is still alone and grieving in spite of her marriage. After two years of learning to run a sheep farm, Ida begins to come to terms with her major mistake.

I will not give away any more of the plot. I savored this book. Ida grew as a character as she learned to know herself and her needs. I felt immersed in the time period. The writing was lyrical. I really did not want it to end. I’d happily read it again. This book will grace many book clubs over the next few years.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review. I loved every word!

Ida Pease, nee Russel was a promising artist in Boston in the late 1800's. Now five years later, she is married to Ezra and living on a sheep farm on Martha's Vineyard. Ezra, a taciturn and difficult man, also runs a marine salvage business. When the ship carrying Ezra sinks and he is presumed dead, Ida is left to run the sheep farm and close out the salvage business. Ida learns to not only rely on herself but to speak up as well.

This novel is very much like previous novels by the author with women and women's rights a major piece. The descriptions of the island and the running of the farm could have been more detailed. The whole story went a little longer than it should have and there were a few too many situations going on. It was good to have Ida find her voice but at the end of the novel it just felt a little flat. Fans of historical fiction will most likely enjoy it.

Ida is a aspiring talented artist in Boston in 1898. After family tragedies she is wooed and marries Ezra. But after only a couple of years in marriage everything isn’t bliss. She is left running their sheep farm alone more and more as Ezra is gone with his partner Mose. She is widowed and faces the reality that her family money is gone and the farm she is on belongs to Ezra’s Aunt Ruth. It follows the story as she tries to make a life for herself and return to the artist she once was. I love he setting of Martha’s Vineyard and the comparisons to Boston. The time period is interesting too as Ida scandalously learns to ride a bike giving her some freedom on the island. The issue of women’s right to vote gets some mention too. The story is beautifully written but slow moving. Even though there were some surprises I took time to read two other books while reading this one. This is for lovers of historical fiction and there is much for book clubs to discuss. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This new book gets a rare five star rating from me! I absolutely LOVED this slowly paced novel about a strong willed young lady in the late 1800s who had to rediscover herself after marrying the wrong man and being legally cheated out of her inheritance. I can't say much without giving away the story but: 1) at that time, a bicycle equalled freedom for women who had access and 2) telephones in homes were more prevalent in 1897 than I ever thought.

Another excellent book off the pen of Sally Cabot Gunning. This is her sixth historical novel: this time it's centered on Vineyard Haven. Ida Pease left her career as a watercolor artist in Boston to marry Ezra. a sheep farmer. Not long after her marriage Ezra and his business partner Mose board a ship headed for Boston. The ship sinks and Ida finds herself a widow coping with the hard work of raising sheep, lambing, haying and settling the complicated financial affairs of her husband. She finds out that her husband sold the farm to his sister before he died so the security she thought she had disappears. This novel is about love and loss and the long road to recovery. It gave me a lot to think about. Ms Gunning's writing was the icing on the cake. .

Painting the Light is a testament to perseverance and being true to oneself in spite of the trials of this life. Ida finds betrayal in every crook and cranny of her livelihood but through the love of Lem and Henry she survives. Much farm life and historical data intertwines to make an exceptional novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a fair review.
Ida is a woman widowed on a farm on Martha’s Vineyard in a time before women had the right to vote. She now has to deal with her husbands estate, even though he has left her nothing. She has Lem, her farm hand, and Henry the executor of his brothers estate but it’s a difficult time in history to be a widow or any woman for that matter, with other ideas of a happy life.
So I would give this book 4 stars for how well it is written with its imagery and character development, but the story failed to grab me at all. I didn’t like the third person narration and found the story just to slow to move. Just not a book for me.

I've enjoyed the author's historical novels in the past and was delighted to find this new book. It definitely did not disappoint. The characters were compelling and the descriptions of Martha's Vineyard in 1898 versus Boston's art scene were spot-on.

This book was well written and a great story! A story of a woman caught in a loveless marriage and tied to a family who doesn’t like her. It’s a story about a woman trying to gain her freedom in a time when women had few or not rights.

A great book!

Compelling and captivating story of a Boston artist who marries a Martha’s Vineyard man, only to learn he has cheated her out of her inheritance and he is a scammer. The story revolves around her discoveries about her husband, her personal growth, and new relationships. The storyline is believable, the Vineyard setting beautifully described, and the exploration by the author of the evolution of human relationships is effective. The emerging Women’s Suffrage movement is woven into the story in a light and plausible way. Highly recommended.

Set in 1898, Ida is a talented young painter from Beacon Hill until her family is tragically gone. She impulsively marries Ezra, a sheep farmer on the vineyard, who is not as he seems, and before long she’s running the farm by herself. The amount of research Gunning did on sheep farming is incredible and highly interesting which adds so much to the novel.
Painting the Light is the whole package, with a great plot, richly nuanced characters, writing that put me right on the sheep farm alongside Ida, and the feeling I’m saying goodbye to people I care about and hate to leave. I know this is a book I’ll want to read again.