Evelyn Toynton Livres

Belle Prokoff is the last of the famous generation of painters for whom art was a secular religion - worth any amount of struggle and sacrifice for its promise of redemption. She is also the widow of Clay Madden, who revolutionized American art, became a near-mythic figure, and died in a drunken car crash. Blunt, fierce, and scornful of the world's hypocrisy, Belle has passionately protected her husband's memory in the three decades since his death. She has also persevered with her painting while the denizens of the fashionable art scene fawn over her not for her own work but for the valuable Madden canvases she clings to as the last relic of her tormented marriage.Now, facing the prospect of her impending death, Belle is confronted with another kind of an unscrupulous biographer is snooping around in her past, working on a sensational book about Madden's life. Before her battle to silence him spirals out of control, she is forced to make her peace with people and events that have haunted her for decades.

In this luminous novel about romance and illusion—and what's left of love when they're stripped away—an American Anglophile is drawn into the lives of a disintegrating aristocratic family. After the sudden death of her husband, Annie Devereaux flees to England, site of the nostalgic fantasies her father spun for her before he deserted the family. A chance encounter in London leads Annie to cancel her return to New York and move in with Julian, the disaffected, moody son of Helena Denby, a famous British geneticist. As their relationship progresses, Annie meets Julian's sisters Isabel and Sasha, each of them fragile in her own way, and becomes infatuated with visions of their idyllic childhood in England's West Country. But the more she uncovers about Julian's past, the more he explodes into rage and violence. Finally tearing herself away, Annie winds up adrift in London, rescued from her loneliness only when she and Isabel form an unexpected bond. Slowly, with Isabel as her reluctant guide, Annie learns of the emotional devastation that Helena's warped arrogance, her monstrous will to dominate, inflicted on her children. The family who once embodied Annie's idealized conception of England is actually caught in a nightmare of betrayal and guilt that spirals inexorably into tragedy.

This memoir offers a profound and reflective exploration of the Holocaust experience, providing a personal narrative that captures the emotional weight and historical significance of this tragic period. Through poignant storytelling, it delves into themes of survival, memory, and resilience, making it a significant contribution to Holocaust literature. The author's insights and reflections bring to life the impact of these events, inviting readers to engage deeply with the human experience during one of history's darkest times.