ISBN-10 : 1460764277
ISBN-13 : 978-1460764275
Book Blurb
Two women, a mysterious map and a family secret spanning hundreds of years – a stunning, moving and electrifying art history thriller for fans of Dominic Smith, Pip Williams and Lauren Chater set around the life, times, and feuds of the artist Peter Paul Rubens. What do you do when the weight of betrayal grows too heavy to bear?Innocence and delight, guile and misapprehension, the hint of indifference, even disdain on her pretty features. Fickle, he called her, a mixture of surprise and confidence. She is all that and more, brought to life with the ink strokes of a genius.Spanish Netherlands, 1620s : raised by her father Lucas to know her mind, Antonia Vorsterman sees everything that goes on in her world – all the rivalries and jealousies that course through the artists’ studios and workshops of Antwerp. Drawn into the lively household of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, whose work her father engraves for a living, Antonia begins to see a life of colour and possibility for herself – until Lucas entrusts her with a terrible secret that will alter the course of their family’s future. Belgium, present haunted by the recent loss of her mother, art historian Charlotte Hubert moves to Antwerp to research her hero, the Baroque master Rubens, and to seek answers about the father she’s never met. But a startling discovery hidden inside an ancient map folio turns Charlotte’s quiet academic life into a dangerous hunt for long-lost treasures, missing for 400 years. In the shadowy cloisters of the university, where ambition, obsession and violence run deep, nothing is as it seems. Charlotte is certain of one thing – no one can be trusted. Centuries apart, Charlotte’s and Antonia’s lives intertwine as they unearth long-buried secrets about a master and his engraver where theft, betrayal and the fallout of family loyalty run rampant.
My Review
The Engraver’s Secret is the debut novel from Lisa Medved. With a split timeline this is the story of two women, four hundred years apart but not that different. In 1620’s Netherlands Antonia is a young women who idolises her father, an engraver for the great Peter Paul Ruben’s. She is given the opportunity of an education, not normally an option for young women, that shows her a different life. Present day Charlotte arrives in Antwerp, the home of her hero Rubens, and home to the father she never knew. A bequeathed map with hidden secrets and a letter by Antonia sends Charlotte on a voyage of discovery and danger with the hope of a hidden treasure.
I adore a good art history mystery, the chance of finding lost or unknown works, the hidden clues and of course a bit of danger thrown in for good measure. The Engraver’s Secret has all this in abundance and more. Rubens is one of the Old Masters of art history, well known for his portrayal of women that coined the phrase ‘Rubenesque’ and of classical history. Lisa Medved opens up his studio and home to the reader through the eyes of Antonia Vorsterman, the daughter of his engraver. I loved that the Lisa Medved captured the hustle and bustle of the studio, that it took a group of people who helped run the studio; the paint mixers, the students learning from the great master himself and the glorious paintings left lying around to be finished, or captured by the engraver.
It was this part of the book, Antonia’s story, that I enjoyed the most. The historical detail is wonderful, the insight into the day to day life of living in Antwerp in the early seventeenth century, the sights and smells of the market, the details of running a house and the political and cultural climate in Antwerp. There is a focus on the role of women, not normally given an education like Antonia, but destined to be wife and mother, something Antonia fights against. It was interesting to see the difference in culture when Antonia and her family moved to London, especially in relation to the Catholic Religion which was banned in England.
Whilst there is four hundred years between Antonia and Charlotte, they both find themselves hearing the deathbed confessions of a parent that changes how they perceive them; for Antonia that her father stole from Rubens, and for Charlotte that her father wasn’t dead. Both feel betrayed by this confession, and makes them question all that they knew about their parent. In the present Charlotte finds her father is her supervisor in her new job at the university. Her thoughts and feelings clouded by her mother’s distrust of her father which causes Charlotte to distrust him, seeing everything he does as suspicious. For the story this adds an element of suspicion about someone trying to steal her work on the missing treasure.
I became immersed in the clues and puzzles to find the missing pieces of art. The writing of the clues was intelligent, and I have to admit a bit beyond me at times, but still I tried to work them out. The plotting kept me intrigued with the many twists and turns, and as to where those paintings could be hidden, and the added danger kept me on the edge of my seat so to speak.
The Engraver’s Secret is an impressive debut novel from Lisa Medved. It had everything I wanted from the historical side, the art side and the treasure hunt. The book is well researched with plenty of historical detail of life in the seventeenth century both in Antwerp and London. Lisa Medved creates wonderful and fascinating characters that shed their layers as the story unfolds, showing both us and themselves new versions and resilience of their characters; I enjoyed watching them grow. If you are a fan of historical fiction then I highly recommend reading this book. Engaging, entertaining and enthralling, this is a fabulous read.
I would like to thank Harper 360 and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour in return for my honest review.
