In 1903, the artist Gwendolen Mary John travels from London to France with her companion Dorelia. Surviving on their wits and Gwen’s raw talent, the young women walk from Calais to Paris. In the new century, the world is full of promise: it is time for Gwen to step out from the shadow of her overbearing brother Augustus and seek out the great painter and sculptor Auguste Rodin. It is time to be brave and visible, to love and be loved – and time perhaps to become a hero as the stain of anti-Semitism spreads across Europe.

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PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
'startling and beautiful; a powerful tribute to a great painter'

Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife

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'a ravishing achievement, a dazzling work of art in its own right’

Dominic Smith, author of the New York Times bestseller The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

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'It is the story of all women who chose a life of freedom rather [than] one of servitude'

 Herald Sun

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Goldbloom's prose is how we are told Gwen's paintings are - rich, lovely, limpid and evocative. Somehow - dare we say it? - European - more Patrick White than Tim Winton. 

Lesley Jenkins