gilda_elise

Catherine Sergeant is adept at going through the motions. After losing her parents at an early age, she buried her grief in the study of antiquities. Now, deserted by her husband without warning or explanation, she reports to work at Pearson’s auction house, exchanging pleasantries with colleagues, never revealing her pain. Cocooned in loneliness, she couldn’t be more surprised to find herself opening up to a total stranger—a new client, no less.

In widowed architect John Brigham, Catherine finds a kindred spirit. The two share a fascination with Richard Dadd, an early Victorian painter who lived most of his life incarcerated in an insane asylum. There he produced his most stunning works—works that have deeply moved Catherine and now draw her inexorably to John. Soon the two are falling in love.

The reawakening of passion in a woman like Catherine is more than John ever hoped for. But when she discovers his possession of an unknown Dadd, it is just the first in a series of revelations that leave her wondering if she knows this man who has shown her life’s true beauty. For John, it may be a last chance to free himself from the priceless secrets he has been harboring too long. Secrets about a soul laid bare on canvas, and a legacy that could shatter all he holds dear in the space of a heartbeat…

I decided to read this book because I loved The Ice Child so much. This book has the same lyrical writing and intriguing characters that made the first book so wonderful. There is Catherine and John, of course, but even Robert, Eilzabeth’s husband, and Helen, John’s sister, bring much to the story. All four have their flaws, some deep and disturbing, yet they are integral to the story.

There is much researched involved here, as Richard Dadd actual existed. He really did spend most of his life in an insane asylum. He really did create most of his work there. It adds much to the book, the way the past and present work off each other. Just how deeply is Dadd’s legacy intwined into John’s life? Will its secrets destroy John’s chances with Catherine?

Dadd’s work is really rather creepy and not at all to my taste, so I couldn’t totally understand Catherine and John’s fascination with his work. And because so much does stay hidden through most of the book, I have the feeling that this book won’t be for everyone. It is more thoughts than actions as it comes to its inevitable ending.