The Painter's Daughters
A Novel
by Emily Howes
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on BN.com
Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Feb 27 2024 | Archive Date Mar 11 2024
Talking about this book? Use #ThePaintersDaughters #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
A “beautifully written” (Hilary Mantel), “fascinating” (The Washington Post) story of love, madness, sisterly devotion, and control, about the two beloved daughters of renowned 1700s English painter Thomas Gainsborough, who struggle to live up to the perfect image the world so admired in their portraits.
Peggy and Molly Gainsborough—the daughters of one of England’s most famous portrait artists of the 1700s and the frequent subject of his work—are best friends. They spy on their father as he paints, rankle their mother as she manages the household, and run barefoot through the muddy fields that surround their home. But there is another reason they are inseparable: from a young age, Molly periodically experiences bouts of mental confusion, even forgetting who she is, and Peggy instinctively knows she must help cover up her sister’s condition.
When the family moves to Bath, it’s not so easy to hide Molly’s slip-ups. There, the sisters are thrown into the whirlwind of polite society, where the codes of behavior are crystal clear. Molly dreams of a normal life but slides deeper and more publicly into her delusions. Peggy knows the shadow of an asylum looms for women like Molly, and she goes to greater lengths to protect her sister’s secret.
But when Peggy unexpectedly falls in love with her father’s friend, the charming composer Johann Fischer, the sisters’ precarious situation is thrown catastrophically off course. Her burgeoning love for Johann sparks the bitterest of betrayals, forcing Peggy to question all she has done for Molly, and whether any one person can truly change the fate of another.
A tense and tender examination of the blurred lines between protection and control, The Painter’s Daughter is an “engaging, transporting” (The Guardian) look at the real girls behind the canvas. Emily Howes’s debut is a stunning exploration of devotion, control, and individuality; it is a love song to sisterhood, to the many hues of life, and to being looked at but never really seen.
Peggy and Molly Gainsborough—the daughters of one of England’s most famous portrait artists of the 1700s and the frequent subject of his work—are best friends. They spy on their father as he paints, rankle their mother as she manages the household, and run barefoot through the muddy fields that surround their home. But there is another reason they are inseparable: from a young age, Molly periodically experiences bouts of mental confusion, even forgetting who she is, and Peggy instinctively knows she must help cover up her sister’s condition.
When the family moves to Bath, it’s not so easy to hide Molly’s slip-ups. There, the sisters are thrown into the whirlwind of polite society, where the codes of behavior are crystal clear. Molly dreams of a normal life but slides deeper and more publicly into her delusions. Peggy knows the shadow of an asylum looms for women like Molly, and she goes to greater lengths to protect her sister’s secret.
But when Peggy unexpectedly falls in love with her father’s friend, the charming composer Johann Fischer, the sisters’ precarious situation is thrown catastrophically off course. Her burgeoning love for Johann sparks the bitterest of betrayals, forcing Peggy to question all she has done for Molly, and whether any one person can truly change the fate of another.
A tense and tender examination of the blurred lines between protection and control, The Painter’s Daughter is an “engaging, transporting” (The Guardian) look at the real girls behind the canvas. Emily Howes’s debut is a stunning exploration of devotion, control, and individuality; it is a love song to sisterhood, to the many hues of life, and to being looked at but never really seen.
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781668021385 |
PRICE | $27.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 320 |
Available on NetGalley
NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)
Download (PDF)
Readers who liked this book also liked:
It's All about The Land
Taiaiake Alfred; Ed. Ann Rogers; Foreword by Pamela Palmater
History, Nonfiction (Adult), Politics & Current Affairs
Taiaiake Alfred; Ed. Ann Rogers; Foreword by Pamela Palmater
History, Nonfiction (Adult), Politics & Current Affairs
The Colossal Book of Incredible Facts for Curious Minds
Nigel Henbest; Simon Brew; Sarah Tomley; Ken Okona-Mensah; Tom Parfitt; Trevor Davies; Chas Newkey-Burden
Entertainment & Pop Culture, Humor & Satire, Nonfiction (Adult)
Nigel Henbest; Simon Brew; Sarah Tomley; Ken Okona-Mensah; Tom Parfitt; Trevor Davies; Chas Newkey-Burden
Entertainment & Pop Culture, Humor & Satire, Nonfiction (Adult)
I Got This!
Julia Cook and Michele Borba
Children's Fiction, Health, Mind & Body, Parenting & Families
Julia Cook and Michele Borba
Children's Fiction, Health, Mind & Body, Parenting & Families
Leaving Independence
William W. Johnstone; J.A. Johnstone
General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction
William W. Johnstone; J.A. Johnstone
General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction
Blood Bounty of the Mountain Man
William W. Johnstone; J.A. Johnstone
General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction
William W. Johnstone; J.A. Johnstone
General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction