For readers of The True Story of Maddie Bright, The Woman in the Green Dress and The Birdman’s Wife comes this atmospheric and richly detailed Australian historical mystery from a bestselling Australian author. Maitland 1913 Miss Elizabeth Quinn is something of an institution in Maitland Town. For longer than anyone could remember she and her brother, businessman Michael, have lived in the … anyone could remember she and her brother, businessman Michael, have lived in the impressive two-storey stone house next to the church. When she is discovered cowering in the corner of the exhibition gallery at the Technical College the entire town knows something strange has come to pass.
Was it the prehistoric remains or perhaps the taxidermy exhibition that had reduced the whale-boned encased pillar of society to a quivering mess? Or is there something odd about a striking painting on loan from the National Gallery?
Mathematical savant Jane Piper is determined to find out. Deposited on the doorstep of the local orphanage as a baby, she owes her life and education to the Quinns’ philanthropic ventures and Elizabeth has no one else to turn to.
As the past and the present converge, Elizabeth’s grip on reality loosens. Can Jane, with her logical brain and penchant for puzzles, unravel Elizabeth’s story before it is too late?
Ranging from the gritty reality of the Australian goldfields to the grand institutions of Sydney, the bucolic English countryside to the charm of Maitland Town, this compelling historical mystery in the company of an eccentric and original heroine is rich with atmosphere and detail.
PRAISE FOR TEA COOPER
‘Boasts strong female protagonists, an infectious fascination with the past, and the narrative skill to weave multiple timelines into a satisfying whole…smartly edited, cleanly written…easy to devour.’ – Sydney Morning Herald on The Woman in the Green Dress
‘Cooper is a welcome inclusion to the rising ranks of female-centred historical Australian novels.’ – The Herald Sun on The Naturalist’s Daughter
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Why was Elizabeth having these strange fainting spells? and why was it set off with looking at paintings? Hints of nostalgia and melancholy looming and others are looking at sending her to an institution, so can they figure out what is happening and what the connection might be? Carefully calculated thinker Jane is determined to ask questions before Elizabeth’s memory disappears forever.
.
We go to 1913 and then to ………
Listened to as an audiobook.
To get the feel of how this author writes, quotes I grabbed quickly are
“porridge – cream and a knob of butter”
I was transported back in time when as a night nurse I had to make porridge that way.
“Acumen, what is acumen”
which I still need to look up. Isn’t it funny how you find different words in a book you’ve never heard of before?
The golden mean was talked about with its numbers and sequences, because this book has alot of painting and art references. Also mentions, Chinese calligraphy, Painting of The Cuttysark. The place, Bathurst, is mentioned alot. We have Pelicans and Gum Trees, and “whirligigs”.
“pears, soap, a blue bag, half a pound of tea, a ham hock, and …..”
Was said like a rhythm
“she sliced off the top off the first egg with more force then she intended and scooped the dribbling egg yolk from the side of the cup with her finger.”
“Let’s make a cuppa tea, tea fixes everything”.
“grasped like dandelions”
“Jane Austen her guilty secret, how she loved those books”
“She must see the girl gets some more note books, she goes through them like barley sugars”
“Arnotts biscuits”
A surprising ending.
Authors notes at the end is extremely interesting and tells what’s true in the book.
The author aimed to write a book that was fictional but plausible.
Rating this a whole hearty 5 stars, and will suit Historical Fiction lovers – Australia/England and anyone who is into the arts.
Let me say first that this book deserves a five-star rating. The plot is interesting, the historical details are compelling, and the characters engaging.
The story switches between two timeframes, about fifty years apart. The earlier story focuses on a young Michael and Elizabeth, brother and sister, who travel to Australia to join their parents who went out first from Ireland to establish a home. The second story centers on young orphan, Jane, who is brought into the home of a much older Michael and Elizabeth, who have become wealthy landowners. The stories merge as a mystery surfaces into what happened before Michael and Elizabeth emigrated. The logical-minded Jane puts her talents to use to help untangle the mystery.
This was a plot that felt unnecessarily complicated in areas. This isn’t to say it’s a complicated plot – only that there were some extra elements that didn’t seem to add much to the overall story.. Regardless of this nitpick, this was a good read and the author handles the material well.
I like when a historical fiction writer includes a little information in the back of the book, as Cooper does here, that clues the reader in on what parts of the book were true. To me, it shows the writer did her research and she also includes a note about where her inspiration for the book came from.
A solid book for fans of historical fiction.
The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper is an excellent dual timeline historical fiction/mystery novel that takes place in Australia. I have been a fan of Ms. Cooper in the past with The Woman in the Green Dress, so I was excited to read this novel as well.
Dual timelines can sometimes be tricky. It either ends up going well, or it can end up being a hot mess. I really feel that in this case, it was pulled off quite nicely.
I will leave the main synopsis for the reader to find with the summary and as so that nothing is spoiled. This is truly a great historical mystery. The author was easily able to weave together two different timelines approximately 50 years apart to create a complex, fascinating, and entertaining storyline that presented several surprising twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed Jane Piper and the full character cast presented. There was mystery, intrigue, suspense, and a dash of romance to sweeten the pot. The characters were realistic, likeable, and well depicted. I also enjoyed the wonderful narrative. The descriptions of the different landscapes and locations of Australia during that time were truly a great addition.
A great book that anyone who loves a good historical fiction/mystery novel with an excellent plot would enjoy from beginning to end.
5/5 stars
Thank you EW and Thomas Nelson for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR, Bookbub, Instagram accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N account upon publication.
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rachel.fox.14224
Many thanks to Harlequin Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Tea Cooper’s latest offering.
I have no hesitation in stating I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to read this book having loved all of Cooper’s other works that I have read, and The Girl in the Painting did not disappoint. Another brilliantly written book that enthrals to the end.
The story begins in 1906 in Maitland Town Australia, where 9 year old Jane (I’ve been here for nine years, three months, one hour and twenty three minutes and was two weeks old when dropped off in the dead of night) is introduced to Michael Quinn by Sister Mary Ann who runs the orphanage where Jane has spent her life.
Jane has come to Quinn’s attention because of her amazing abilities with numbers and wants to offer her a scholarship, a concept that Jane finds most confusing. Even more confusing is Quinn’s directive to Sister Mary Ann, that she, Jane, is to be delivered to his home at 4pm the next day to have tea with him and his sister Miss Elizabeth Quinn where Jane’s future will be discussed.
The story then moves back in time to Birkenhead, England in 1862 where 15 years old Irish lad Michael O’Cuinn is waiting to board the ship to Australia with his sister Elizabeth. They are heading to find their parents who’d left them behind when they emigrated years ago as a childless couple was better able to get passage to Australia than a family.
Arriving in Australia Michael is shocked to discover his mother has died, and his father is a shell of a man addicted to opium and not long left for this world. However, it appears his father has also invested well and leaves Michael with a thriving business and the wherewithal to make a decent life for himself and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth discovers a talent for arithmetic, while at the same time falling for the young Chinaman Jing, a relationship that Michael can not allow to continue, a decision that will forever leave a wedge between her and her brother.
The Quinn’s decide to use their background in the workhouses of England and their new-found wealth to assist other orphans and abandoned children who show promise to achieve in life. Hence their decision to support and encourage Jane.
Jane and Elizabeth quickly form a strong bond and Elizabeth fosters Jane’s love of all things numerate.
Then one day, while attending The Technical College where there was an exhibition of Tost and Rohu curiosities, taxidermied specimens and fossilised remains, as well as artworks between each exhibition cabinet, Elizabeth takes a strange turn and the Quinn’s world begins to slowly unravel.
Suddenly nothing is quite what it seems, secrets held by Michael for 50 years threaten to tear their world apart, and why has Langdon-Penter, husband of artist Marigold Penter, decided that now is the time to hold an exhibition of her works in Maitland Town?
As always Cooper’s characters are strong and three dimensional, and she draws you into her story as if you are there and experiencing what is happening first-hand. Her works just keep getting better and better.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quality read with a historical bent and an intriguing twist. I give it 5 stars.
Tea Cooper is a fabulous story teller and this book was beautifully written, a wonderful read with rich and engaging characters, I got to know Michael and Elizabeth so well, I felt their emotions as we journeyed from England to Australia in times that were tough and exciting a time of change, this is a captivating story that had me turning the pages.
The late 1860’s and a young Michal O’Cuinn is emigrating with his young sister Elizabeth to Australia to meet up with his parents, things don’t turn out as planned and Michael leaves Elizabeth in Sydney while he travels to the gold mining town of Hill End in New South Wales, the news is not good when he gets there but Michael is determined to give all he has to make a future for him and Elizabeth, he finally brings her to Hill End where she grows and learns so much and together they work hard and move onto Maitland.
It is now 1913 and Michael and Elizabeth are very successful business owners in Maitland, they are generous people and well liked they take on a young orphan Jane Piper (I loved Jane) who is mathematically gifted and the three get on very well running the auction house, until an exhibition of paintings by an English artist comes to town and Elizabeth has a turn or a dilemma and finds herself not acting normally, Michael is determined to help his beloved sister but he must also confess a secret and gets Jane who is ever logical to help solve the mystery. The mystery thickens is there a link to the paintings?
I don’t want to give too much away, I highly recommend that you read this one, MS Cooper has taken me on a trip back in time, the setting and descriptions are so good and along with Michael, Elizabeth and Jane there are other characters that add a lot to this story, the reality of Hill End and the beauty of Maitland were so well done, this one had me racing to the end of the book I really needed to know the outcome of the mystery, I loved the ending lots of smiles from me. I loved this one, you have done it again MS Cooper, you rock fabulous story, don’t miss this one.
ARC received from Harper Collins Australia for an honest review
I am on a bit of a run of Australian historical fiction stories at the moment, and the chance to read a copy of new-to-me author Tea Cooper’s The Girl In The Painting was too good to refuse.
Ms Cooper has given us a story with intriguingly woven storylines, told over a 50 year period that I was impatient to turn the next page.
Michael, Elizabeth and Jane’s gives us a snippet of the life of our Australian ancestors. Sometimes I think that the slower paced life, sans technology would be so much nicer, so much simpler.
However lies, betrayals and intrigues surround this trio. I was messaging a friend who had already read this book as I was reading, with so many questions, so many guesses at who was who and what was what. I was surprised at the twists and turns that this story took along the way.
Wonderful characters pushed this story forward at a wonderful pace. There were also some deplorable characters that I couldn’t wait to see the end of haha.
I was reading this book in my work lunch breaks, and I found myself wanting to stretch my break just a couple of minutes more, needing to know what was happening, I ended up taking it home and devouring the second half in one evening.
This was my first Tea Cooper read, and I will be searching out more in the future.
*4 Stars*
ARC kindly received via Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very well written, intricately woven historical fiction. At first I wasn’t too sure how long it would take me to get into the story, because it does flick back and forth between past and present for a while, but as things started to progress, I found myself very intrigued by certain aspects of the story.
Telling the story of Michael and Elizabeth Quinn, and then also in the present day, their story with Jane Piper, we get quite the glimpse of life many years ago in Australia. Elizabeth and Jane are both strong willed women for their day, and that was a really lovely aspect of the book. Michael was also a fine man with good values and morals, and I quite liked him as well.
Once the mystery of the story began, and Elizabeth starts having her “turns” I was wondering many many things, and one of them actually gets addressed in the book, and turns out I was completely wrong. Cooper weaves such a tale of intrigue that I really wasn’t sure how things were going to unravel until she really wanted me, the reader, to know. What is the secret that seems to be carefully hidden, and what is making Elizabeth have these “turns”?
Some wonderful characters (and some despicable ones), this was a really great read, and I would definitely read more from this author in the future.
Unfortunately this was a mixed bag for me.
The historical part of the book (Australia, 1860s-1915) was well done/researched and quite interesting with some wonderful descriptions of life/towns at the time. But I found the rest of the writing rather stilted and bumbling with dual timelines/stories/speakers.
It involves a brother and sister (Michael & Elizabeth) who (in one timeline) we see as youngsters making their way alone to Australia to meet their parents and how they carve out a place of their own. As adults, they adopt an orphan (Jane) and give her a chance to develop her exceptional math abilities and advance in the workplace. Seventy-five percent in, there is a jarring twist as a mystery evolves around Elizabeth’s past.
There were moments when I felt that it was hinted that this would take an even more sinister turn than it did and made me feel a little lost and off balance. It was a slow starter and a bit overly long and other than Jane, I found a disconnect with most of the characters.
But for those who enjoy (mostly) Australian historical fiction, it will probably be an enjoyable read.
Thanks to #ThomasNelson and #NetGalley for providing me the early ARC for review. The opinions are strictly my own.