Beatrix Prins sets out to discover who killed her father in the final days of the Nazi occupation of Holland. But where is the truth and which are the lies in the patchwork of fragments and memories which survive? As her mother slips further into madness, Beatrix begins to believe that she is uncovering a shocking truth which has lain hidden for decades beneath the rubble of war. She enters a dangerous world, alone and vulnerable where she will replace her father in a new conspiracy in order to unravel the past and determine her own future. But the price she has to pay may be too high. The safe arms of a deceitful childhood have been the currency of her life so far. Is it too late for her to understand love and loyalty?
REVIEWS: Art Forger's Daughter
The Art Forger's Daughter is a pacey mystery, with a galloping plot and characters who are never quite what they seem. I was carried along by the interweaving of past and present. It is thematically rich, exploring the perils of truth telling, the nature of genuine art, mental illness and the impact of history. A rare combination.
The Art Forger's Daughter is a beautifully layered tale, interweaving fact and fiction, past and present. As the son of a mother recently diagnosed as having dementia (although different to the character in the story), a father with a background in art, I was captured not just emotionally, but also by a curiosity to follow the story in an historical context. Anita's interpretation of her research in mental illnesses is especially delicate and sympathetic. Personal to me perhaps, she has explored some particularly sensitive areas relating to institutional care and family commitment. The twists and turns as the story unfolds provide intrigue and surprise, but certainly nothing predictable. I even learnt a few things about the French Resistance which I'm keen research myself.
Thanks Anita for a great book. More please.
I really enjoy this genre of book so was thrilled to be given an opportunity to review this after reading the plot summary - I was not disappointed! The story was really well written and it flowed as you read it with the descriptions making the scenes so imaginable, the characters interacted brilliantly and you felt you really were part of a real story not a novel. I have visited some of the places within the book so this made it even better for me. I hope to be able to read other books from this author in the future.
I stumbled upon this book by accident. It's a genre which appeals to me, so I found it to be a very easy read. As the story progresses, it becomes a very intricate tale with many twists and turns and there are lots of surprises along the way. In addition, her knowledge of the art world is very impressive, as are her descriptions of Amsterdam. I'd recommend the book, it's a good debut novel and look forward to Anita's next one.
A thoroughly enjoyable read which will grip you and hold your interest right up to the end. In her debut novel, Anita Belli has managed to entwine scenes and characters which are brought to life through intrigue and suspense. Her ability to describe places and emotions were simply captivating.
This is a tense and compelling story on the subjective nature of truth as the heroine, Beatrix, unpicks the complex events that led to her father's death. The Art Forger's Daughter is an enjoyable and intelligent read.
Great read, and this is from someone who doesn't read a lot! Look forward to Anita's next novel
The Art Forger's Daughter is a beautifully layered tale, interweaving fact and fiction, past and present. As the son of a mother recently diagnosed as having dementia (although different to the character in the story), a father with a background in art, I was captured not just emotionally, but also by a curiosity to follow the story in an historical context. Anita's interpretation of her research in mental illnesses is especially delicate and sympathetic. Personal to me perhaps, she has explored some particularly sensitive areas relating to institutional care and family commitment. The twists and turns as the story unfolds provide intrigue and surprise, but certainly nothing predictable. I even learnt a few things about the French Resistance which I'm keen research myself.
Thanks Anita for a great book. More please.
I really enjoy this genre of book so was thrilled to be given an opportunity to review this after reading the plot summary - I was not disappointed! The story was really well written and it flowed as you read it with the descriptions making the scenes so imaginable, the characters interacted brilliantly and you felt you really were part of a real story not a novel. I have visited some of the places within the book so this made it even better for me. I hope to be able to read other books from this author in the future.
I stumbled upon this book by accident. It's a genre which appeals to me, so I found it to be a very easy read. As the story progresses, it becomes a very intricate tale with many twists and turns and there are lots of surprises along the way. In addition, her knowledge of the art world is very impressive, as are her descriptions of Amsterdam. I'd recommend the book, it's a good debut novel and look forward to Anita's next one.
A thoroughly enjoyable read which will grip you and hold your interest right up to the end. In her debut novel, Anita Belli has managed to entwine scenes and characters which are brought to life through intrigue and suspense. Her ability to describe places and emotions were simply captivating.
This is a tense and compelling story on the subjective nature of truth as the heroine, Beatrix, unpicks the complex events that led to her father's death. The Art Forger's Daughter is an enjoyable and intelligent read.
Great read, and this is from someone who doesn't read a lot! Look forward to Anita's next novel
Author's Notes: The Art Forger's Daughter
The Letter Writer by David Skynner
Art Forgery in World War Two
The starting point for this book was the remarkable true story of Artist Hans Van Meegeren who was arrested after WW11 in Amsterdam for Collaboration. He was charged with selling the nation’s art treasures to the Nazis when a small Vermeer painting was found in Herman Goerring’s collection of looted art and was traced back to Van Meegeren. Collaboration was a hanging offence, so in his defense, Van Meegeren claimed that he had painted the picture. He was not immediately believed – nobody could paint like Vermeer - and the painting had provenance and authentication. He said that he could prove it by painting another and so he set about literally painting for his life. He proved his case and was sentenced to one year imprisonment for forgery, a light sentence which reflected public opinion; he had become a national hero for fooling the Nazi’s. Sadly he died in prison before his sentence was completed.
This story has been told in many books and even a film, so I was not intending to recreate it – but I wondered about the other ways in which Art can play a part in all areas of our life and even be used to save lives. Picasso’s now infamous painting ‘Guernica’ for example raised awareness and support across a largely non interventionist Europe of the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.
THEMES
This book is a love story, dealing with the reckless passion of first love, and a deeper, more lasting maternal / paternal love which echoes down the centuries. It tells the story of the unintended consequences of actions, memory truth and lies. How the past ripples through the generations to impact on the lives of those who come after.
The effects of trauma
It is well documented that trauma casts a long shadows after any war. What I am interested in is the trauma suffered by the women and children of war and the impact that trauma has on those who come after. There is much documentation about the Hunger Winter and the physical effects of starvation, which also rippled down the years causing both physical and emotional ill health throughout the lives of those who endured it.
Mental Health
The 1950’s was another planet and looking back even over such a short time, we can see the social changes in attitude and life styles, but none so much as in the treatment of Mental Health patients. Thanks to my brother, John Belli for his support in researching this aspect of the book and answering my unusual questions.
Art Forgery:
Learning how to forge pictures in the 1940’s and 50’s hasn’t made me rich! Detection techniques have improved dramatically and these forgeries of old masters would be harder to make today. Modern masters became easier to forge but fakes and forgeries are still prolific and continue to keep the law busy
PLACES
Some of the places in the book are real, some are fictional and for the purposes of this book, I have taken a few liberties.
Severalls Mental Hospital in Colchester is a real place and was closed in 1997. Opened in 1913 and did indeed have extremely long, previously unglazed corridors. It’s gardens were documented as being amongst the best in the area.
The suburb of Shrub End in Colchester was built in the post war era, in common with many towns and cities around the UK.
The old Dutch quarter of Colchester still exists and is now much sought after. The Little House on Stockwell Street is fictional but is typical of houses in that area at the time. Stockwell Street doesn’t exist:East and West Stockell do, as does ‘Stockwell’.
The George Hotel has stood on the same spot for 500 years and I thought it an appropriate venue for Dr. Felix to stay.
Wrabness just along the tracks on the branch line between Manningtree and Harwich: I have taken a few liberties to suit the story but mostly thought it would be a great setting for these two ‘babes on the wood...’
The Port of Harwich remained busy during the war and passenger ferries resumed in 1946. It was the port which received the Kinder Transport, the Jewish children evacuated from Nazi occupied Europe, who were housed temporarily in a caravan park in nearby Dovercourt, Essex, being transported on to London Liverpool Street where a statue commemorates their journey. At the time of writing, there are still people living in Colchester and the surrounding area who first came to Britain on the Kinder transport.
Amsterdam as a setting because it is more likely that Dr. Van Gelder would live and work there. Following conversations with Johanna Brown, who lived in Holland as a child during the Nazi occupation and now lives in Manningtree, I set a scene in the more remote tree nurseries of Boskoop.
VOICES
1st person alternating Beatrix and T’Ash. 3rd person other characters; multiple viewpoints give more scope for story telling; I love to hear a character's ‘real’ voice.
CHARACTERS
All fictitious and like most of us a flawed bunch who are trying to survive and thrive; who share a common humanity and I have tried to give them all some redeeming features. Their task is to learn and grow through the challenges which have been chucked at them..... So in reality, based pretty much on all of us...