The Portrait

The windswept isle of Houat, off the coast of Brittany, is no picturesque artists'' colony. At the turn of the twentieth century, life is harsh and rustic. So why did Henry MacAlpine forsake London -where he had been feted by critics and gallery owners, his works exhibited alongside the likes of Cezanne and Van Gogh -to make his home in this remote outpost? The truth begins to emerge when, four years into his exile, MacAlpine receives his first visitor. Influential art critic William Naysmith has come to the island to sit for a portrait. Over the course of the sitting, the power balance between the two men shifts dramatically as the critic whose pen could anoint or destroy careers becomes a passive subject. And as the painter struggles to capture Nasmith''s true character on canvas, a story unfolds -one of betrayal, hypocrisy, forbidden love, suicide and ultimately murder. ''The Portrait'' is a darkly atmospheric, psychologically complex, macabre and chilling novel from a master storyteller.

Summary

A dark and disturbing novel of suspense, set at the turn of the 20th century, by the bestselling author of ‘An Instance of the Fingerpost’.

Product details

• Authors: Iain Pears, Pears Iain
• Publisher: Harper Perennial UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 07.08.2006
• EAN: 9780007232819
• ISBN: 978-0-00-723281-9
• No. of pages: 144
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 198 mm x 15 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Adventure, FICTION / Historical / General, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), France, FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Traditional, Classic fiction (pre c 1945), FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Hard-Boiled, FICTION / Thrillers / Crime, 20th Century, Classic crime, Thriller / suspense, Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Psychological thriller, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Classic crime and mystery fiction, FICTION / Urban & Street Lit, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Adventure / action fiction, Classic fiction: general and literary, London;London