"As fantastic as Balzac's meditation on the risk of madness in artistic creation. Once you begin to read it, you will not be able to stop. . . . Fascinating and breathtaking!" -- Dr Anne-Marie Baron, président of the Société des Amis de Balzac et de la Maison de Balzac, Paris, France What is the secret of imbuing art with life? Characters search for the answer in this modern adaptation of Honoré de Balzac's iconic novel of art and passion, The Unknown Masterpiece. The novelists Frenhofer and Porbus, the painter and muse Gillette, the troubadour Nicolas, and the sculptor Houdon all strive to discover the secret of creating a living artifact, despite the voices of academic critics and students, peers and rivals, relatives and loved ones, and their own withering internal frailties. Some disciples may achieve the dream of allowing the ideal courtesan subject, Catherine Lescault herself, to breathe and live and love, while other artists’ fixations lead into monomaniacal madness with unspeakably tragic consequences. Which interpretation will ultimately triumph: sculpture, paint, music, dance, acts on the stage, or words on the page? "Will keep even the most knowledgeable reader guessing and profoundly engaged, until the last startling pages." -- Dr John Wallen, Faculty of Arts, Sharjah University, UAE Illustrations by Rocío De Juan Bayarri

Catherine Lescault

Literature & Fiction

Idlewild, Walter

Literary

Faro

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

Books by Idlewild, Walter

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

Catherine Lescault