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Title:
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Last Painting of Sara de Vos |
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Authors:
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Smith, Dominic |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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374 |
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Year:
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2016 |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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Two talented women more than three centuries apart, rising to the challenges of putting brush to canvas: Sara de Vos, a Dutch painter of the Golden Age and Ellie Shipley, an Australian art history student starving in a garret in 1950s New York. Persuaded to emulate Sara's only known work, 'At the Edge of the Woods', Ellie sets in play a series of events, drawing in Marty De Groot, owner of the painting, and culminating in a Sydney exhibition Ellie will curate decades later.
As multi-layered as the painting at its heart, this meticulously researched story celebrates the creation of art and its magnetic pull on those within its orbit, underpinned by realistic characters and an attention to detail, down to the last brushstroke. [Larger font]
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Categories:
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Fiction, The Arts, Historical, Morals/Ethics, Relationships, 2019 Titles, Larger font |
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By: TEKUI 001
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2025-06-16 10:36:12 |
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Loved by all. Superb descriptions. |
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By: CHCH 257
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2025-05-14 10:06:33 |
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An interesting read, especially for our only artist who was in awe of how paints were made. The constant changes of dates and venues enhanced the experience of the story. |
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By: WHANG 023
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2025-03-14 22:28:50 |
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Wow, what an amazing book. I was fully gripped from the get go. A story set in 20th Century New York and 18th Century Holland. A couple of modern characters and their story, which is really a sub-plot of the main story which is entirely about the unknown female painter Sara De Vos. So convincingly written that I was savouring each page trying to make it last longer. Gems like this: "Poverty first appeared in their meals, then in their shoes, and finally in their thoughts and prayers." Best book I've read for a while. Reminded me of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt for its complexity and texture. |
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By: WELL 213
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2023-10-19 14:47:40 |
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The majority of our group loved this book, even describing it as a "masterpiece". The technicalities of painting or forging artworks, the descriptions of places and paintings, all appealed. They thought it well-written and coped happily with the time changes. |
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By: ROTO 003
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2023-05-22 12:26:33 |
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Enjoyable read. Certainly didn't realise how many art forgeries of famous paintings there were. |
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By: QUEEN 015
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2023-04-26 13:27:54 |
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Probably our favourite of all the BDS books so far. Well-written and engaging at micro and macro levels. |
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By: NELS 076
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2022-01-07 11:25:03 |
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Beautifully written, loved it. |
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By: CHCH 319
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2021-11-05 12:51:30 |
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We loved this book. The group would like to read more by this author. the writing was exquisite. While the subject was a painting, the author seemed to be painting with words. It all rang true to us (even the art historian). Generated much discussion. Multi-layered. |
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By: WHAKA 011
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2021-10-20 13:53:31 |
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All thoroughly enjoyed this book - interesting linking the times via a painting. |
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By: MANGWK 001
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2021-06-25 11:53:20 |
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Everyone loved this read. Lush, believable characters and a seamless transition between time periods. A rich read enjoyed by all. |
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By: MTMA 002
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2021-04-21 10:24:22 |
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Thoroughly enjoyed, an interesting read. |
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By: COROM 002
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2021-04-21 10:22:31 |
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Enjoyable as a change from our usual non-fiction picks. We were interested to read of the lives of the two women involved with the painting of the same picture; especially about the early Dutch women painters and the guilds. Intriguing, well researched and written, and thence discussed. |
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By: ASHB 001
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2019-06-17 14:15:18 |
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Differing opinions on the book and characters, but most enjoyed it. We enjoyed the historic details, but some felt it was a little laboured. All want to read other books by the same author. |
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By: AUCK 207
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2019-06-17 14:13:45 |
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Enjoyed by all. Thank you. |
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By: WINT 002
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2019-06-17 14:13:08 |
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Great book, a lovely way to tell a story - we enjoyed flicking back to the 1600s. Enjoyed by all. |
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By: TAUP 012
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2019-06-17 14:11:57 |
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Our group enjoyed the detail and layers of the story. We found it a little slow but it is well worth persisting, as the layers unfold and the storyline falls into place so that it is hard to put down. We all enjoyed it very much. |
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By: NORTH 007
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2019-06-17 14:10:00 |
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Great read. Beautiful construction. The construction's layers of imagery was like a painting in itself, and the plot also was wonderful in its layering and build. Top notch! A gripping read, with flawless flashbacks. |
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By: DUNED 033
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2019-03-06 13:42:27 |
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Most people enjoyed this book and felt it gave a really good idea of what the painting might have been like. |
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By: AUCK 116
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2019-03-06 13:40:50 |
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The whole group enjoyed the book, and the way it moved through the generations. Great information regarding women artists, forgery and the Art Guilds of the 17th century. |
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By: CHCH 086
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2019-03-06 13:39:03 |
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We had a good discussion of some complex questions. Well-written, and an interesting representation of several historical periods. |
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