Keeping the World AwayKeeping the World Away
a Novel
Title rated 2.65 out of 5 stars, based on 3 ratings(3 ratings)
Book, 2006
Current format, Book, 2006, 1st ed, No Longer Available.Book, 2006
Current format, Book, 2006, 1st ed, No Longer Available. Offered in 0 more formatsFrom author Margaret Forster comes a novel that follows the imagined life of an evocative, actual early-twentieth-century painting as it changes hands and, through the years, affects the lives of a succession of women.
Gwen, a bold and spirited young English artist, defies convention and sets out to study in Paris, where she has a tumultuous affair with the inspiring, controlling sculptor Rodin. But as the relationship cools, Gwen feels lonely and adrift as she awaits the ever more infrequent visits from her lover. Attempting to restore her artistic vision and recapture her true self, Gwen pours out her soul onto a canvas, creating a small, intimate painting of a quiet corner of her attic room.
Lost, found, stolen, sold, and fought over, the painting enchants all who possess it. First it falls into the hands of Charlotte, a dreamy intellectual with artistic leanings - though little talent. In turn the work finds its way to the lovely, bright Stella; the destitute but willful Lucasta; self-sufficient Ailsa; and finally young, curious Gillian - all of whom share an unspoken desire to "keep the world away" and long for a tranquil golden place such as the one depicted in the painting.
An intimate painting of a quiet corner of an attic room, created by Gwen, Rodin's lover, has a profound influence on several women whose lives it touches, including Gwen and Charlotte, a dreamy Edwardian intellectual. By the author of Lady's Maid. 40,000 first printing.
A classic Margaret Forster novel with the same satisfying appeal as her bestselling Diary of an Ordinary Woman — the story of an actual early 20th century painting and its fictional adventures through the century and of the women whose lives it touches.
An intimate painting of a quiet corner of an attic room, created by Gwen, Rodin's lover, has a profound influence on several women whose lives it touches, including Gwen and Charlotte, a dreamy Edwardian intellectual.
Gwen, a bold and spirited young English artist, defies convention and sets out to study in Paris, where she has a tumultuous affair with the inspiring, controlling sculptor Rodin. But as the relationship cools, Gwen feels lonely and adrift as she awaits the ever more infrequent visits from her lover. Attempting to restore her artistic vision and recapture her true self, Gwen pours out her soul onto a canvas, creating a small, intimate painting of a quiet corner of her attic room.
Lost, found, stolen, sold, and fought over, the painting enchants all who possess it. First it falls into the hands of Charlotte, a dreamy intellectual with artistic leanings - though little talent. In turn the work finds its way to the lovely, bright Stella; the destitute but willful Lucasta; self-sufficient Ailsa; and finally young, curious Gillian - all of whom share an unspoken desire to "keep the world away" and long for a tranquil golden place such as the one depicted in the painting.
An intimate painting of a quiet corner of an attic room, created by Gwen, Rodin's lover, has a profound influence on several women whose lives it touches, including Gwen and Charlotte, a dreamy Edwardian intellectual. By the author of Lady's Maid. 40,000 first printing.
A classic Margaret Forster novel with the same satisfying appeal as her bestselling Diary of an Ordinary Woman — the story of an actual early 20th century painting and its fictional adventures through the century and of the women whose lives it touches.
An intimate painting of a quiet corner of an attic room, created by Gwen, Rodin's lover, has a profound influence on several women whose lives it touches, including Gwen and Charlotte, a dreamy Edwardian intellectual.
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- New York : Ballantine Books, c2006.
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