An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay

An Equal Stillness

Francesca Kay

Tells the story of artist Jennet Mallow from birth to death, her rise to fame and her tempestuous marriage to David Heaton, another artist. Written as a fictional biography this novel offers a superb insight into the mind of the artist as Jennet tries to balance marriage and motherhood with painting. Imaginary paintings are described so exactly you can see the brushstrokes! Every exquisite sentence is just as carefully composed.

Extract
Ice. Not the deep Antarctic sort, crystalline, blue-tinged, but thin ice, nothing much more than a membrane separating the water from the air. Ice that comes so suddenly it seems to seize the moment - arresting on the seashore a wave just on the point of curl, imprisoning the rising bubbles in a mountain tarn. How to show that thinness, that colourlessness full of colour, the way that ice in sunshine is both mirror and source of light? White light. Purity and danger.
Parallels
  • Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
  • The Moon and Sixpence by William Somerset Maugham
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Explicit sexual Content