I must admit that when I began to read
this book, set in London in 1942/3, I felt that it moved rather
slowly but I was proved wrong in this impression. Alicia Foster`s
characters are fascinating and detailed: the flamboyant Dame Laura
Knight , the diffident Faith Farr and the retiring Cecily Browne,
three lady artists employed by the War Artists Advisory Committee
(WAAC) under the command of Sir Kenneth Clarke, to ensure the
survival of British art during the early part of the WW2. We follow
the very different characters as the artists strive to carry out
their given task – to complete stoic and cheerful representations
of the events at home(the “right sort of art”), in spite of the
stark realities around them . They are united in their dislike of
Aubrey Smith, the underling at the Ministry who has been appointed to
oversee their efforts – he is bumptious, self- important and given
to completely missing the point of their pictures.
Faith Farr provides the link to Black,
a top secret counter-propaganda group operating in a villa at Aspley
Guise in Bedfordshire, run by Sam Thayer. His wife Vivienne is
involved with their German translator and Sam also indulges in
dalliance with ladies from nearby Bletchley. This group fabricates
leaflets, produces film and radio plays for the German public to
weaken their support for the Nazis: some of their methods are both
personal and very cruel. One of their number is not the person he
portrays and it is he who is Faith`s and Vivienne`s nemesis.
In fact, the
theme throughout the book is that of nothing appearing as it really
is. Each character and situation has, when looked into more closely,
a deeper and often sinister life. Even the minor characters display
this trait to a lesser extent. I found the book thoroughly enjoyable
and Alicia Foster`s use of real people to weave her story around is
masterful. Sir Kenneth Clark did chair the WAAC during the war: Dame
Laura Knight produced many paintings for WAAC: the other two painters
are based on Grace Golden and Evelyn Dunbar. Their real lives and
their personages in the book are smoothly intertwined by Alicia
Foster to make a very atmospheric and absorbing read.
I enjoyed the book immensely. Thank
you, Alicia Foster.
Review by Liz.
Thank you to Penguin for sending us a copy to review
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