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Molly & the Captain
'A gripping mystery' Observer
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Check link for latest rating. ( 288 ratings, 44 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
From the award-winning author of Curtain Call, Freya and Our Friends in Berlin comes a sweeping story of art and love through the lens of a single painting
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Description
A celebrated artist of the Georgian era paints his two young daughters at the family home in Bath. The portrait, known as Molly & the Captain, becomes instantly famous, its fate destined to echo down the centuries, touching many lives.
In the summer of 1889, a young man sits painting a line of elms in Kensington Gardens. One day he glimpses a mother at play with her two daughters and decides to include them in his picture. From that moment, he is haunted by dreams that seem to foreshadow his doom.
A century later, in Kentish Town, a painter and her grown-up daughters receive news of an ancestor linking them to the long-vanished double portrait of Molly & the Captain. Meanwhile, friendship with a young musician stirs unexpected passions and threatens to tear the family apart.
Molly & the Captain is a story about time, art, and love. Through the prism of a single painting, it examines the mysteries of creativity and the ambiguous nature of success. What weighs more, loyalty to one's talent or loyalty to one's blood? Does self-sacrifice ennoble the soul or degrade it? And what does it mean to speak of the past when its hold on the present is inescapable?
Through Anthony Quinn's signature giftsβperiod subtlety, intricate characterisation, and storytelling verveβthis triptych novel melds three families and three centuries into a single vision of human frailty and longing.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Molly & the Captain by Anthony Quinn is celebrated for its intricate and sweeping narrative, spanning centuries with elegant prose that captures the nuances of both character and era. Critics praise Quinn's masterful storytelling and his abilities to create vivid characters and settings while exploring timeless themes of love, art, and creativity. The novel is regarded as a gripping, stylish, and ambitious work, featuring distinct sections that are artfully interconnected, showcasing Quinn's versatility as a writer.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781408713228
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 27 October 2022
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Abacus
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 34.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 232.0mm
Weight: 520g
Pages: 432
Collections
About the Author
Anthony Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1964. From 1998 to 2013 he was the film critic for the Independent. His novels include The Rescue Man, which won the 2009 Authors' Club Best First Novel Award; Half of the Human Race; The Streets, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Walter Scott Prize; Curtain Call, soon to be a feature film starring Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton; Freya, Eureka, Our Friends in Berlin and London, Burning. He also wrote the recent Liverpool memoir Klopp.
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