Download or read book Lisette s List written by Susan Vreeland and published by Random House. This book was released on 2014-08-26 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Susan Vreeland, bestselling author of such acclaimed novels as Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Luncheon of the Boating Party, and Clara and Mr. Tiffany, comes a richly imagined story of a woman’s awakening in the south of Vichy France—to the power of art, to the beauty of provincial life, and to love in the midst of war. In 1937, young Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s grandfather Pascal. Lisette regrets having to give up her dream of becoming a gallery apprentice and longs for the comforts and sophistication of Paris. But as she soon discovers, the hilltop town is rich with unexpected pleasures. Pascal once worked in the nearby ochre mines and later became a pigment salesman and frame maker; while selling his pigments in Paris, he befriended Pissarro and Cézanne, some of whose paintings he received in trade for his frames. Pascal begins to tutor Lisette in both art and life, allowing her to see his small collection of paintings and the Provençal landscape itself in a new light. Inspired by Pascal’s advice to “Do the important things first,” Lisette begins a list of vows to herself (#4. Learn what makes a painting great). When war breaks out, André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from the Nazis’ reach. With German forces spreading across Europe, the sudden fall of Paris, and the rise of Vichy France, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings (#11. Find the paintings in my lifetime). Her search takes her through the stunning French countryside, where she befriends Marc and Bella Chagall, who are in hiding before their flight to America, and acquaints her with the land, her neighbors, and even herself in ways she never dreamed possible. Through joy and tragedy, occupation and liberation, small acts of kindness and great acts of courage, Lisette learns to forgive the past, to live robustly, and to love again. Praise for Lisette’s List “Vreeland’s love of painters and painting, her meticulous research and pitch-perfect descriptive talents . . . are abundantly evident in her new novel.”—The Washington Post “This historical novel’s . . . great strength is its lovingly detailed setting. . . . Readers will enjoy lingering in the sun-dappled, fruit-scented Provençal landscape that Vreeland brings to life.”—The Boston Globe

Download or read book Lisette s List written by Susan Vreeland and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2015-06-23 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Susan Vreeland, bestselling author of such acclaimed novels as Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Luncheon of the Boating Party, and Clara and Mr. Tiffany, comes a richly imagined story of a woman’s awakening in the south of Vichy France—to the power of art, to the beauty of provincial life, and to love in the midst of war. In 1937, young Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s grandfather Pascal. Lisette regrets having to give up her dream of becoming a gallery apprentice and longs for the comforts and sophistication of Paris. But as she soon discovers, the hilltop town is rich with unexpected pleasures. Pascal once worked in the nearby ochre mines and later became a pigment salesman and frame maker; while selling his pigments in Paris, he befriended Pissarro and Cézanne, some of whose paintings he received in trade for his frames. Pascal begins to tutor Lisette in both art and life, allowing her to see his small collection of paintings and the Provençal landscape itself in a new light. Inspired by Pascal’s advice to “Do the important things first,” Lisette begins a list of vows to herself (#4. Learn what makes a painting great). When war breaks out, André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from the Nazis’ reach. With German forces spreading across Europe, the sudden fall of Paris, and the rise of Vichy France, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings (#11. Find the paintings in my lifetime). Her search takes her through the stunning French countryside, where she befriends Marc and Bella Chagall, who are in hiding before their flight to America, and acquaints her with the land, her neighbors, and even herself in ways she never dreamed possible. Through joy and tragedy, occupation and liberation, small acts of kindness and great acts of courage, Lisette learns to forgive the past, to live robustly, and to love again. Praise for Lisette’s List “Vreeland’s love of painters and painting, her meticulous research and pitch-perfect descriptive talents . . . are abundantly evident in her new novel.”—The Washington Post “This historical novel’s . . . great strength is its lovingly detailed setting. . . . Readers will enjoy lingering in the sun-dappled, fruit-scented Provençal landscape that Vreeland brings to life.”—The Boston Globe

Download or read book Life Studies written by Susan Vreeland and published by Viking Adult. This book was released on 2005 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of short stories explores art through the eyes of everyday contemporary people or the lovers, servants, children, and neighbors who surrounded great Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters.

Download or read book Luncheon of the Boating Party written by Susan Vreeland and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-05-03 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestelling author of GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE, "A vivid exploration of one of the most beloved Renoir paintings in the world, done with a flourish worthy of Renoir himself" (USA Today) With her richly textured novels, Susan Vreeland has offered pioneering portraits of artists' lives. As she did in Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Vreeland focuses on a single painting, Auguste Renoir's instantly recognizable masterpiece, which depicts a gathering of Renoir's real friends enjoying a summer Sunday on a café terrace along the Seine. Narrated by Renoir and seven of the models, the novel illuminates the gusto, hedonism, and art of the era. With a gorgeous palette of vibrant, captivating characters, Vreeland paints their lives, loves, losses, and triumphs so vividly that "the painting literally comes alive" (The Boston Globe).

Download or read book What Love Sees written by Susan Vreeland and published by Rosetta Books. This book was released on 2012-03-18 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An uplifting novel inspired by a true story, by the New York Times–bestselling author of Lisette’s List and The Girl in Hyacinth Blue. Jean Treadway is a young, cultured New England woman whose every material need is supplied by wealthy, overprotective parents. Through an arranged correspondence, she meets Forrest Holly—a dirt-poor Southern California rancher whose spiritual foundation turns despair into purpose. As different as they are in background, they share two things: they are both blind, and they are both determined to live an active, normal life and raise a family. While Jean was among the first women to use a Seeing Eye dog on urban streets in the late 1930s, Forrest used a seeing-eye bull, and his horses, to guide him on the ranch in the 1940s. As they discover each other through letters that have to be read to them, his earnestness and folksy humor win her heart, leading to an extraordinary life together, shared by their four children.

Download or read book Girl in Hyacinth Blue written by Susan Vreeland and published by Perfection Learning. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This luminous story of an alleged 36th Vermeer painting begins in the present day and traces the ownership back to World War II, Amsterdam, and to the work's inspiration.

Download or read book Girl in Hyacinth Blue written by Susan Vreeland and published by RosettaBooks. This book was released on 2012-03-18 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This New York Times bestseller explores the life and many owners of an imaginary Vermeer painting in an “impressive debut collection” of linked stories (Publishers Weekly). A Dutch painting of a young girl survives three and a half centuries of loss, flood, anonymity, theft, secrecy, and even the Holocaust. This is the story of its owners whose lives are influenced by its beauty and mystery. Despite their many troubles and unsatisfied longings, the girl in hyacinth blue has the power to inspire love in all its human variety. This luminous story begins in the present day, when a professor invites a colleague to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer—but why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of events that trace the ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work’s inspiration. As the painting moves through each owner’s hands, what was long hidden quietly surfaces, illuminating poignant moments in multiple lives. Susan Vreeland’s characters remind us, through their love of this mysterious painting, how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable. “Vreeland’s book is a work of art.” —New York Post

Download or read book The Eldest Daughter Effect written by Lisette Schuitemaker and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What do Angela Merkel, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christine Lagarde, Oprah Winfrey, Sheryl Sandberg, JK Rowling and Beyoncé have in common?" was the headline in the English newspaper The Observer in 2014. "Other than riding high in Forbes list of the world’s most powerful women," journalist Tracy McVeigh wrote in answer to her own question, "they are also all firstborn children in their families. Firstborn children really do excel." So what does it mean to be an eldest daughter? Firstborns Lisette Schuitemaker and Wies Enthoven set out to discover the big five qualities that characterize all eldest daughters to some degree. Eldest daughters are responsible, dutiful, thoughtful, expeditious and caring. Firstborns are more intelligent than their siblings, more proficient verbally and more motivated to perform. Yet at the same time they seriously doubt that they are good enough. Being an eldest daughter can have certain advantages, but the overbearing sense of responsibility often gets in the way. Parents may worry about their ‘difficult’ eldest girl who wants to be perfect in everything she does whilst her siblings may not always understand her. "The Eldest Daughter Effect" shows how firstborn girls become who they are and offers insights that can give them more freedom to move. And parents will gain a better understanding of their firstborn children and can support them more fully on their way.

Download or read book Locked in Time written by Lois Duncan and published by Hachette+ORM. This book was released on 2011-10-03 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nore Roberts didn't ask for a new life, but now that her mom is gone and her dad is newly married, she has to settle in at Shadow Grove, the old Civil War mansion her stepfamily calls home. When she meets her stepmother, Lisette, Nore is shocked by her youth and beauty that gives her chills- and a hint of something sinister. There's hope of becoming friends with her stepbrother and sister, until Nore realizes they're hiding something. When she begins to feel like the target of a deadly plan, Nore starts digging into her stepfamily's past. The skeletons in their closet are more real than she ever imagined. Can Nore expose her stepmother's dark secret before an old and evil magic swallows her up?

Download or read book The Secret of Haven Point written by Lisette Auton and published by Puffin. This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some bonds are built to last forever . . . When Alpha was a baby, she washed up by the lighthouse at Haven Point, a remote beach alive with wild magic. Alpha was the first foundling - and now the lighthouse at Haven Point has become a ramshackle home for any disabled child or adult who has ever felt excluded from society. They call themselves the Wrecklings, looting from passing ships with the help of the mermaids who live in their waters, and whispering superstitions to the wind and the waves. Alpha and her gang spend their days adventuring on the shore - and getting into trouble with the grown-ups. Then one day, everything changes. When Alpha spots a strange light up on the headland and realizes that her beloved family are in danger of being discovered by Outsiders, it sets in motion a chain of events that will change Haven Point forever. With their home under threat, the Wrecklings must decide what kind of future they want . . . and what they're willing to do to get it.

Download or read book The Passion of Artemisia written by Susan Vreeland and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002-12-31 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Susan Vreeland set a high standard with Girl in Hyacinth Blue.... The Passion of Artemisia is even better.... Vreeland's unsentimental prose turns the factual Artemisia into a fictional heroine you won't soon forget." —People A true-to-life novel of one of the few female post-Renaissance painters to achieve fame during her own era against great struggle. Artemisia Gentileschi led a remarkably "modern" life. Vreeland tells Artemisia's captivating story, beginning with her public humiliation in a rape trial at the age of eighteen, and continuing through her father's betrayal, her marriage of convenience, motherhood, and growing fame as an artist. Set against the glorious backdrops of Rome, Florence, Genoa, and Naples, inhabited by historical characters such as Galileo and Cosimo de' Medici II, and filled with rich details about life as a seventeenth-century painter, Vreeland creates an inspiring story about one woman's lifelong struggle to reconcile career and family, passion and genius.

Download or read book Under the Wide and Starry Sky written by Nancy Horan and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2014-01-21 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH From the New York Times bestselling author of Loving Frank comes a much-anticipated second novel, which tells the improbable love story of Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his tempestuous American wife, Fanny. At the age of thirty-five, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne has left her philandering husband in San Francisco to set sail for Belgium—with her three children and nanny in tow—to study art. It is a chance for this adventurous woman to start over, to make a better life for all of them, and to pursue her own desires. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her children repair to a quiet artists’ colony in France where she can recuperate. Emerging from a deep sorrow, she meets a lively Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who falls instantly in love with the earthy, independent, and opinionated “belle Americaine.” Fanny does not immediately take to the slender young lawyer who longs to devote his life to writing—and who would eventually pen such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson’s charms, and the two begin a fierce love affair—marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness—that spans the decades and the globe. The shared life of these two strong-willed individuals unfolds into an adventure as impassioned and unpredictable as any of Stevenson’s own unforgettable tales. Praise for Under the Wide and Starry Sky “A richly imagined [novel] of love, laughter, pain and sacrifice . . . Under the Wide and Starry Sky is a dual portrait, with Louis and Fanny sharing the limelight in the best spirit of teamwork—a romantic partnership.”—USA Today “Powerful . . . flawless . . . a perfect example of what a man and a woman will do for love, and what they can accomplish when it’s meant to be.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Horan’s prose is gorgeous enough to keep a reader transfixed, even if the story itself weren’t so compelling. I kept re-reading passages just to savor the exquisite wordplay. . . . Few writers are as masterful as she is at blending carefully researched history with the novelist’s art.”—The Dallas Morning News “A classic artistic bildungsroman and a retort to the genre, a novel that shows how love and marriage can simultaneously offer inspiration and encumbrance.”—The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book Lost Lake written by Sarah Addison Allen and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2014-01-21 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a New York Times Bestseller From the author of the beloved bestseller Garden Spells comes a beautiful, haunting story of old loves and new, and the power of the connections that bind us forever... The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future. That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby's past. Her husband George is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that's left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires. It's a lot, but not enough to keep Eby from relinquishing Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand, and calling this her final summer at the lake. Until one last chance at family knocks on her door. Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve, before she learned of loneliness, and heartbreak, and loss. Now she's all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope too, thanks to her resilient daughter Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer... and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago. One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren't sure they needed in the first place: love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended. Can they find what they need before it's too late? At once atmospheric and enchanting, Lost Lake shows Sarah Addison Allen at her finest, illuminating the secret longings and the everyday magic that wait to be discovered in the unlikeliest of places.

Download or read book Spring Fires written by Cynthia Wright and published by Boxwood Manor Books. This book was released on 2011-08-23 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a New York Times bestselling author...RT Book Reviews' "ALL TIME FAVORITE" selection. GOLD rating! An independent woman's quest for love... When dashing Nicholai Beauvisage returns to America, he's been hardened by the terrors of the French Revolution and now seeks to indulge in the pleasures of a rake. However, his plans are soon complicated by Lisette Hahn, a self-sufficient beauty who runs a coffee house where Jefferson and Hamilton argue politics. Proud of her success, she’s been able to rise above the desires of her heart - until Nicholai arrives back in Philadelphia. That very night, in the wake of tragedy, Lisette finally gives her passions free rein…but what will the dawn bring? Beloved characters from Stolen by a Pirate, Rescued by a Rogue, Touch the Sun, and Silver Storm return as supporting characters in this sensuous, enchanting story that sweeps from a new, vibrant America across the ocean to the glittering salons of London. "Cynthia Wright magically entwines passion and history." ~Kathe Robin, RT Book Reviews Rakes & Rebels: The Beauvisage Family: 1 – STOLEN BY A PIRATE: a novella prequel to RESCUED BY A ROGUE (Jean-Philippe & Antonia) 2 – RESCUED BY A ROGUE (Alec & Caro) 3 – TOUCH THE SUN (Lion & Meagan) 4 – SPRING FIRES (Nicholai & Lisette) 5 – HER DANGEROUS VISCOUNT (Grey & Natalya) The 2 Rakes & Rebels series feature intertwining characters! Rakes & Rebels: The Raveneau Family: 1 - SILVER STORM (André & Devon) 2 - HER HUSBAND, THE RAKE: a sequel novella (André & Devon) 3 - SMUGGLER'S MOON (Sebastian & Julia) 4 - THE SECRET OF LOVE (Gabriel & Isabella) 5 - SURRENDER THE STARS (Ryan & Lindsay) 6 - HIS MAKE-BELIEVE BRIDE (Justin & Mouette) 7 - HIS RECKLESS BARGAIN (Nathan & Adrienne) 8 - TEMPEST (Adam & Cathy) "SPRING FIRES is a classic historical romance that you'll never forget! Treat yourself to entering the world of our American ancestors... you'll be swept away!" ~ NYTimes Bestselling Author Ciji Ware

Download or read book Summerlost written by Ally Condie and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tender and compelling contemporary novel for young readers about facing loss and finding friendship, from Ally Condie, international bestselling author of the Matched series. Nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the 2017 Edgar Award “Kids are awesome. And they are diverse. There are children with different abilities and backgrounds and experiences, and every one of them deserves to find themselves in children's literature and to know that they matter.” –Ally Condie, on Summerlost Sometimes it takes a new friend to bring you home. It's the first real summer since the accident that killed Cedar's father and younger brother, Ben. Cedar and what’s left of her family are returning to the town of Iron Creek for the summer. They’re just settling into their new house when a boy named Leo, dressed in costume, rides by on his bike. Intrigued, Cedar follows him to the renowned Summerlost theatre festival. Soon, she not only has a new friend in Leo and a job working concessions at the festival, she finds herself surrounded by mystery. The mystery of the tragic, too-short life of the Hollywood actress who haunts the halls of Summerlost. And the mystery of the strange gifts that keep appearing for Cedar. Infused with emotion and rich with understanding, Summerlost is the touching new novel from Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched series that highlights the strength of family and personal resilience in the face of tragedy. "Generous and bittersweet, Summerlost has the emotional acuity of Ms. Condie’s writing for older teenagers, but it’s pitched just right for readers ages 10-14." –Wall Street Journal "Funny, sad, sweet, and heartwarming." –Parents.com, Special Needs Now blog ★ "Condie is at her best . . . grabbing readers’ interest from the first page." —Publishers Weekly, starred review ★ "Thoughtful, poetic chapter endings guide readers new to psychological depth toward meaningful connections between plot events and thematic reflections." —BCCB, starred review "A nuanced portrait of grief deeply grounded in the middle-school mind-set." —Booklist "Honest, lovely, and sad." —Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book Clara and Mr Tiffany written by Susan Vreeland and published by Random House Incorporated. This book was released on 2011-01 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hoping to honor his father and the family business with innovative glass designs, Louis Comfort Tiffany launches the iconic Tiffany lamp as designed by women's division head Clara Driscoll, who struggles with the mass production of her creations and grieves the losses of two husbands. By the author of The Girl in Hyacinth Blue.

Download or read book Ruined A Novel written by Paula Morris and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2010-02-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping supernatural mystery and romance set in post-Katrina New Orleans.Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans. She's staying in a creepy house with her aunt, who reads tarot cards. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey gives Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, among the oak trees in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to show Rebecca the nooks and crannies of New Orleans. There's just one catch.Lisette is a ghost.