First published 2014
April Vogt receives an assignment that changes everything. Her boss at Sotheby's sends her to evaluate furniture in a ninth arrondissement apartment that has remained locked for seventy years. April sees this as her chance to escape a crumbling marriage and stalled career back in the States. The apartment holds more than dusty antiques and valuable pieces. April finds a portrait by Giovanni Boldini and discovers the subject was Marthe de Florian, a celebrated Belle Epoque courtesan. Letters and journals reveal Marthe's hidden depths beyond her reputation and beauty. April partners with a sharp Parisian lawyer to uncover the apartment's mysteries. As she pieces together Marthe's story, April confronts her own life choices. Problems from home demand attention while Paris offers new temptations. Both women face crossroads that will determine their futures. April must decide whether to return to her old life or embrace the possibilities that Marthe's story has shown her.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, biographical-fiction, 21st-century, art-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Paris, Ninth Arrondissement
Period: Belle Epoque
384 pages · ebook · Thomas Dunne Books