With Violets

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing work of fiction
Review: In 1868 in the Louvre, Berthe Morisot practices painting by copying the masters. Usually she is accompanied by her sister and her mother, but today she is alone except for her friend Rosalie Riesener. Another friend, Monsieur Fantin joins the two young women and introduces them to renowned artist Edouard Manet. He flirts with Berthe and even changes her drawing slightly though she lectures him for doing so.

Berthe is attracted to Edouard, but is horrified to learn her new admirer is married to pianist Suzanne. The budding female artist also meets Edouard's brother Eugene; soon the siblings compete for the affection of Berthe. Will she choose the single brother, the famous married brother, or neither brother?

WITH VIOLETS is an intriguing work of fiction that provides insight into an interesting late nineteenth century artist (Berthe that is) and her relationships with the Manet brothers. Berthe is the focus of the story line as she seems attracted to Edouard but ultimately marry Eugene. Did she love Edouard or was that hero worship? Genre fans will gain a taste for Left Bank Paris during the impressionist period as Elizabeth Robards paints a delightful portrait of an impressionist artist ahead of her times.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Fascinating story paints an image of great love
Review: Once I started reading WITH VIOLETS I could not put it down. Elizabeth Robards fascinates with a look into "what may have been" a great love story between master artist Edouard Manet and Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot.

While Morisot was a woman ahead of her time, with artistic passion, and the spirit to join Monet, Renoir, Cezanne and others as part of the Impressionist movement, history hints that she & Manet may have been more than fellow artists. Manet painted no other subject as often as Morisot, who served as a model for fourteen Manet portraits.

WITH VIOLETS begins with an engaging encounter between the two at the Louvre, and quickly draws you into the complexities of their love affair in 19th century Paris. The story embraces so many family members and friends that you not only feel the passion between Edouard and Berthe, but also the emotions of those witness to the attempt to veil the deep love that they cannot deny each other.

Vibrant language paints a story of passionate love between a married man, and a woman who seems willing to chance everything to be with him. Was Edouard's wife truly the former mistress of his father, and his loveless marriage only for reasons of family honor? Can Berthe risk her place among fellow artists, and bring shame upon the family who has encouraged her to buck convention and be the artist that she was born to be? Add in the intricacies of family, war and the Impressionist movement, and every page is riveting.

So much history is weaved into the love story that I found myself wanting to know more about the artists, and now look at their paintings with questions about what the eyes of the model and the strokes of the artist are telling me. While WITH VIOLETS is beautifully written historical fiction, the romantic in me wants to believe that Elizabeth Robards may be sharing a love story that truly was.