In this acclaimed first novel by author and former journalist Wendy Holden, Charlie, a war correspondent turned author who is haunted by her worst journalistic experiences, turns to the history of paper and the materials of JMW Turner to distract her from the ghosts of her past. Her research brings her into contact with Alan, a highly successful artist and Turner scholar. She falls under his seductive spell, only to discover that Alan has plenty of ghosts of his own. A book rich in history and war, love and obsession, yet intertwined with a thriller’s mysterious undercurrent, this novel is designed to wrong-foot the reader time and again...
What the Critics Say
A superior novel of suspense in a well-plotted debut...(Holden) weaves pages of esoteric paper lore into a tale that involves tenuous mental stability and growing mystery. Readers who are interested in art history and artists' lives will find themselves enthralled by the depth and scope of information - Publishers Weekly
“With this appealing debut, journalist Wendy Holden turns to fiction, using Taylor as her first name. Her novel claims historical anchoring with a plot featuring retired war-zone journalist Charlotte (Charlie) Hudson’s research of 19th-century British artist JMW Turner’s relation to paper. But it is really a romance between Charlie and a famous contemporary artist, Sir Alan Matheson, who shares an obsession with Turner’s landscapes..... Charlie is an intriguing figure, haunted by her harsh past and her failed marriage. When Charlie begins investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of her new lover’s daughter, the story loses some of its more turgid claims to art and revels in its ability to suspend us for pages in its own thoroughly diverting obsessions." - Library Journal
"(A) lusciously textured novel of suspense and discovery, full of emotional nuance as accurately and delicately rendered as Turner's clouds." - Booklist
“Every once in a while I pick up a book by an author totally unknown to me, a book for which there has been no buzz, no recommendation from a friend. Perhaps it’s the cover or the title that influences me to choose this one over that. Maybe it’s just kismet. Whatever it was that drew me to this book, I am forever grateful… [Taylor Holden’s] writing is exquisite—rich and textured… What Holden has done so supremely well… is blend in the rather obscure information about the art of papermaking and the influence this “simple” material had on the artists who used it. This is not a novel that drops in somebody’s latest hobby; this is a fine character-driven suspense story that envelopes the reader in a world where passions run deep and hope and life is renewed. It's books like this one that keep me coming back every time...I have the eternal hope that there is another gem like this out there that I may just stumble across when least expected....” - Mystery News
"Journalist Charlotte Hudson, exhausted, is casting around for her next project when she meets famed though reclusive artist Sir Alan Matheson in a Great Russell St. art supply shop and is smitten with the whole idea of paper--and with Alan. Though it unfolds with a lushly detailed pace, you'll find what follows gripping not just for the story and its wringing suspense, but for its art history and its richly detailed story of papermaking, paper in all forms for all purposes but especially its use in the art of JMW Turner, the controversial Romantic landscape/seascape painter whose life had a seamy side." - The Poisoned Pen
"A fascinating novel - one that will hold your interest throughout the book. The two main characters are well drawn and the reader will feel the mystique and wonder about each of them as they read (on). For anyone who is an art historian, this book will be a double treat. ..An engrossing read and one that I highly recommend. To top it off, it is Taylor Holde
