The Girl in the Green Glass Mirror: Amazon.ca: Elizabeth McGregor: Books

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Here is an absorbing, well-written mix of romance and melodrama that reserves its most passionate passages for the role of art in our lives. Fine-art auctioneer Catherine Sergeant is devastated upon learning that her seemingly happy marriage was a fraud. Her husband, a repressed businessman, walks out on her without a word. Retreating into her work, she meets architect John Brigham, and the two discover a shared fascination with the work of Richard Dadd, an early Victorian painter who did most of his best work while incarcerated in an insane asylum. Interspersed with the story of Catherine and John's increasingly intense relationship are episodic scenes of Dadd at work in the asylum, painting incredibly detailed works depicting ambition, agony, and raving madness. McGregor carefully and delicately weaves into her plot the idea that art is a conduit for the emotions, casting it variously as a therapeutic tool and as an expression of our darkest impulses. The author is at her most lyrically persuasive when detailing her overarching theme: a life without art is no life at all. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Hailed for her “remarkably accomplished and poignant work” (Washington Post), acclaimed author Elizabeth McGregor returns with a haunting love story about two lost souls brought together by chance—and bonded forever by a mystery that transcends madness, tragedy, and time itself....

Catherine Sergeant is adept at going through the motions. After losing her parents at an early age, she buried her grief in the study of antiquities. Now, deserted by her husband without warning or explanation, she reports to work at Pearson’s auction house, exchanging pleasantries with colleagues, never revealing her pain. Cocooned in loneliness, she couldn’t be more surprised to find herself opening up to a total stranger—a new client, no less.

In widowed architect John Brigham, Catherine finds a kindred spirit. The two share a fascination with Richard Dadd, an early Victorian painter who lived most of his life incarcerated in an insane asylum. There he produced his most stunning works—works that have deeply moved Catherine and now draw her inexorably
to John. Soon the two are falling in love.

The reawakening of passion in a woman like Catherine is more than John ever hoped for. But when she discovers his possession of an unknown Dadd, it is just the first in a series of revelations that leave her wondering if she knows this man who has shown her life’s true beauty. For John, it may be a last chance to free himself from the priceless secrets he has been harboring too long. Secrets about a soul laid bare on canvas, and a legacy that could shatter all he holds dear in the space of a heartbeat…

A compelling blend of human drama, art, and history, this intriguing tale casts a spell that lingers far beyond the final page—and celebrates the strength we all must find within our hearts. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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