A tale loosely based on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, the story of a brilliant Renaissance Italy painter traces her efforts to take over her father's studio while avoiding the depredations of men and fighting her attraction to notorious sculptor Matteo Tassi, endeavors that are complicated by her relationship with a young female slave. 20,000 first printing.

A Rare And Curious Gift

Holdstock, Pauline

Romance

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

"Holdstock's vivid, unflinching tale doesn't sugarcoat the casual brutality of the period, and is punctuated by startling moments of beauty." -Publishers Weekly Loosely based on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, A Rare and Curious Gift tells the story of Sofonisba, a brilliant painter gradually taking over her father's studio. Determined to avoid the depredations of men, she is fighting her own intensely erotic attraction to Matteo Tassi; sculptor, goldsmith, notorious and irresistible rogue. Then a young female slave, her skin strangely mottled by nature, enters their lives and those of their friends. The fascination of these artists and scientists with the exotic creature in their midst; often cruel, sometimes humane; inevitably alters their relationship with one another and the world around them forever. Through this fearless story of utterly convincing human passions, Pauline Holdstock paints a rich, beautifully textured portrait of the Italian Renaissance and its material and spiritual visions of human nature. Reading group guide included.

A Rare and Curious Gift: A Novel

Reference

W.W.Norton&Company

The Blackbird's Song is the story of conflict between two cultures. Three young Canadian missionaries working in the remote mountains of Honan province in China become tragic victims of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, in a suspensful tale that explores the fine line between courage and weakness, hope and despair, faith and delusion.

The Blackbird's Song: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

United States

Dundurn

A 49th Shelf Editors' Pick MyMum said sometimes refugees don't eat anything for days and days. Sometimes weeks and months so I am really lucky. I think she exaggerates. But I think she is right about the lucky bit. Or maybe not. Sometimes I forget that MyMum is dead. But that is probably better than remembering. When Frankie's mother dies, he tells his teacher, of course. But he can't seem to get anyone at his school in southern England to listen to him. So the six-year-old comes up with a plan: go to France, find a police station and ask the officers to ring his father. Thus a stowaway's view of the sea opens Giller-nominated Pauline Holdstock's eighth novel, narrated in turns by Frankie - who likes cheese, numbers, the sea when it's pink and "smooth like counting", and being alone when he feels bad - and a cast of characters that includes his worried Gran, his callous teacher and his not-so-reliable father. Set in the summer of Annichka the Soviet space dog, Here I Am! is a mesmerizing story about the lucidity of children and the shortsightedness of adults.

Here I Am!

Literary

Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio

A 49th Shelf Editors’ Pick MyMum said sometimes refugees don’t eat anything for days and days. Sometimes weeks and months so I am really lucky. I think she exaggerates. But I think she is right about the lucky bit. Or maybe not. Sometimes I forget that MyMum is dead. But that is probably better than remembering. When Frankie’s mother dies, he tells his teacher, of course. But he can't seem to get anyone at his school in southern England to listen to him. So the six-year-old comes up with a plan: go to France, find a police station, and ask the officers to ring his father. Thus a stowaway’s view of the sea opens Giller-nominated Pauline Holdstock’s eighth novel, narrated in turns by Frankie―who likes cheese, numbers, the sea when it’s pink and “smooth like counting,” and being alone when he feels bad―and a cast of characters that includes his worried Gran, his callous teacher, and his not-so-reliable father. Set in the summer of Annichka the Soviet space dog, Here I Am! is a mesmerizing story about the lucidity of children and the shortsightedness of adults.

Biblioasis

Confessions with Keith

Humor & Satire

Engaged and entirely engaging, her acerbic wit tempered by grace and good humour, Holdstock writes about war; about the conundrum of being Canadian; about reading in all its forms and, centrally, about the vocation, vexations and triumphs of writing in a time when the lessons of the past seem to have been lost. At the heart of this collection is Holdstock the writer, animating us in discussions about the creative process while assessing the actions and images of writing, politics, film, travel and art.

Mortal Distractions

Essays & Correspondence

Thistledown Press

The artistic world of mid-16th Century Italy comes to life through the eyes of a piebald slave stolen from her home and family in Africa. 
Chiara, as she is eventually named, is sold to Paolo Pallavicino, an artist in service of Giuliano de Medici. When several unfortunate incidents occur, the artist's wife believes her to be a curse and demands that she be sent away. From this starting point, Chiara works her way from painter to painter, observing the games the artists play on each other and the rivalries that fuel their artistic creations.

Beyond Measure

Contemporary

Cormorant Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Holdstock, Pauline. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Holdstock, Pauline

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Holdstock, Pauline. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Rare And Curious Gift

A Rare and Curious Gift: A Novel

The Blackbird's Song: A Novel

Here I Am!

Here I Am!

Confessions with Keith

Mortal Distractions

Beyond Measure