The Muse - Paperback

by Jessie Burton (Author)

"Love, war, desire, and art--it's all here." --Elle

A picture hides a thousand words . . .

On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. But though Quick takes Odelle into her confidence, and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery.

The truth about the painting lies in 1936 and a large house in rural Spain, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harboring ambitions of her own. Into this fragile paradise come artist and revolutionary Isaac Robles and his half-sister Teresa, who immediately insinuate themselves into the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences . . .

Seductive, exhilarating and suspenseful, The Muse is an unforgettable novel about aspiration and identity, love and obsession, authenticity and deception - a masterpiece from Jessie Burton, the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist.

Front Jacket

It's 1967 and Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. She takes a job at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art and is taken under the wing of the mesmerizing and mysterious Marjorie Quick. When Odelle discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles--a Spanish artist whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades--she finds herself drawn into a complex web of secrets and deceptions.

The truth about the painting lies in rural Spain, 1936, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harboring ambitions of her own. Olive grows close to Teresa, a young housekeeper, and Teresa's half brother, Isaac Robles, a painter buoyed by the revolutionary fervor that will soon erupt into civil war. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss family's lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come.

In vividly rendered detail, acclaimed and bestselling author Jessie Burton spins a tale of desire, ambition, and how the tides of history inevitably shape and define our lives.

Back Jacket

It's 1967 and Odelle Bastien is a Caribbean émigré trying to make her way in London. She takes a job at the prestigious Skelton Institute of Art and is taken under the wing of the mesmerizing and mysterious Marjorie Quick. When Odelle discovers a painting rumored to be the work of Isaac Robles--a Spanish artist whose mysterious death has confounded the art world for decades--she finds herself drawn into a complex web of secrets and deceptions.

The truth about the painting lies in rural Spain, 1936, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harboring ambitions of her own. Olive grows close to Teresa, a young housekeeper, and Teresa's half brother, Isaac Robles, a painter buoyed by the revolutionary fervor that will soon erupt into civil war. Insinuating themselves into the Schloss family's lives, Teresa and Isaac help Olive conceal her artistic talents with devastating consequences that will echo into the decades to come.

In vividly rendered detail, acclaimed and bestselling author Jessie Burton spins a tale of desire, ambition, and how the tides of history inevitably shape and define our lives.