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Title: I Am Madame X : A Novel by Gioia Diliberto ISBN: 0-7432-1155-3 Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (18 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Read "Strapless" instead
Comment: There is very little known about the life of Virginie Gautreau and this author has managed to spin an entire book out of this paucity of facts. This is a light romance story at best, with pretensions of being an historical novel. This book edges close to a serial romance. If you are not enthralled with a lightweight romance, you are better off reading "Strapless". Same people, more factual.
Rating: 4
Summary: Pretty As a Picture
Comment: What do you do if you are a biographer who falls in love with a painting but can't find enough historical evidence to write the life story of the painting's subject? You make something up! That is precisely what Ms. Diliberto has done in this enjoyable, albeit romanticized, fictional adaptation of the life of Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau, the subject of John Singer Sargent's 1884 painting, Madame X.
Ms. Diliberto saw Sargent's masterpiece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and knew immediately that she wanted to do a biography on the enigmatic woman depicted in the painting. Unfortunately, when she undertook the project, she could not find enough information on the subject. As a result, she took the information she had managed to collect and used Madame X as the subject of her first fictional work. The novel is similar to other recent works of historical fiction, such as The Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Other Boleyn Girl.
The novel itself is a quick and enjoyable read. The main character is well-developed, though I cannot say the same for most of the supporting characters. It is hard to say whether or not their lack of depth is a failing on the author's part or a deliberate attempt to emphasize the superficial nature of the main character. Everyone's appearance is vividly described, as is the environment in which they live, so I would venture to say that the lack of insight into their intellect is deliberate. Virginie lives a life dictated by appearances.
There are instances where the dissemination of the historical fact seems a bit heavy-handed. Those instances are probably a result of Ms. Diliberto's background as a biographer. I was impressed with her descriptive abilities and her flair for social melodrama. This novel felt similar to the works I have read by Jane Austin, particularly Emma. The colorful world that unfolds in I Am Madame X successfully captures a few of the romantic possibilities inspired by Sargent's portrait.
On a side note, I also enjoyed the Author's Note given at the end, where she gives the reader insight into what was fact and what was fiction. She even points out factual elements that she altered a bit to improve her story. I thought giving that information was a nice touch.
Rating: 5
Summary: great book
Comment: Gioia Diliberto's fictionalized account of Virginie Gautreau breathes life into a woman and her story that I didn't know anything about before picking up the book. I became fascinated with her and how this one painting, which doesn't seem so scandalous now, and how it ruined John Sargeant's career in France so he left to pick up his career in England. I also found that the author of this book made a website, www.iammadamex.com, which I enjoyed.
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Title: Strapless: The Rise of John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis, John Singer Sargent ISBN: 1585422215 Publisher: J. P. Tarcher Pub. Date: 24 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier ISBN: 0452284449 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: 24 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory ISBN: 0743227441 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 04 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: A Venetian Affair by Andrea Di Robilant ISBN: 037541181X Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland ISBN: 0142001821 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 31 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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