Review & Giveaway: Claude & Camille by Stephanie Cowell

Claude & Camille

by Stephanie Cowell

SYNOPSIS: In the mid-nineteenth century, a young man named Claude Monet decided that he would rather endure a difficult life painting landscapes than take over his father’s nautical supplies business in a French seaside town. Against his father’s will, and with nothing but a dream and an insatiable urge to create a new style of art that repudiated the Classical Realism of the time, he set off for Paris.

But once there he is confronted with obstacles: an art world that refused to validate his style, extreme poverty, and a war that led him away from his home and friends. But there were bright spots as well: his deep, enduring friendships with men named Renoir, Cézanne, Pissarro, Manet – a group that together would come to be known as the Impressionists, and that supported each other through the difficult years. But even more illuminating was his lifelong love, Camille Doncieux, a beautiful, upper-class Parisian girl who threw away her privileged life to be by the side of the defiant painter and embrace the lively Bohemian life of their time.

His muse, his best friend, his passionate lover, and the mother to his two children, Camille stayed with Monet—and believed in his work—even as they lived in wretched rooms, were sometimes kicked out of those, and often suffered the indignities of destitution. She comforted him during his frequent emotional torments, even when he would leave her for long periods to go off on his own to paint in the countryside.

But Camille had her own demons – secrets that Monet could never penetrate, including one that when eventually revealed would pain him so deeply that he would never fully recover from its impact. For though Camille never once stopped loving the painter with her entire being, she was not immune to the loneliness that often came with being his partner.

A vividly-rendered portrait of both the rise of Impressionism and of the artist at the center of the movement, Claude and Camille is above all a love story of the highest romantic order.

Simply stated - Claude & Camille is by far one of the most beautiful books I have ever read! I had little knowledge about Monet prior to reading this, but I know now I will never forget him or Camille and their story nor will I ever look at his paintings the same way again.

Stephanie Cowell’s writing is impeccable and her characters, charming and many faceted. All in all, I found Claude & Camille to be an utterly engrossing read – the kind that makes you tune out everything (and everyone) else (ha - just ask my husband) and has you looking forward to every free minute that you can get back to it. Poignant and touching, Claude & Camille is a fascinating look at one of the founders of the Impressionist movement, his struggle to succeed as an artist and the woman he loved.

Highly Recommended!

*****************************************

How would you like to win your very own copy of Claude & Camille?  Passage to the Past has a copy up for grabs for one lucky winner!

GIVEAWAY 411:

Giveaway is open to US and Canada entries.  Please leave a comment with your email address to enter.  Only one entry per person.  If you have already won a copy on another blog, please let me know and I'll remove your name so others may have a chance.

Giveaway ends on April 20th.  GOOD LUCK!

 *****************************************

 Make sure to also visit the following blogs today for more posts from the Round Table:

Author Guest Post w/sponsored giveaway at The Burton Review

Arleigh’s Special Giveaway at Historical-Fiction.com