Portrait of an unknown woman...and an unknown plot | Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel

Great blend of art and history | Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel | Vanora Bennett

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	• Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel Vanora Bennett Harper Paperbacks, 2008 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Portrait of an Unknown Woman

This was an interesting insight on a small part of the happenings of Henry VIII times. Introducing Hans Holbein was good and showed another angle. Some of the circumstances were a little far fetched and were more romantic fiction than historic fiction, but overall an interesting effort. If you like historical fiction with a romantic angle, you will enjoy it.

Portrait of an unknown woman...and an unknown plot

While parts of the book were good and I learned some things I didn't know before, ie that Thomas More had an adopted daughter, for the most part, the book was difficult to read and seemed to drag throughout many pages.

I found that I skipped through a lot of the book, looking for the plot or something to hold my interest.

The premise is good, it simply unwound and unraveled and then the author seemed to try to sew it all together at the end...too late.

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Great blend of art and history

In order for historical fiction to be really good, it must ring true which this certainly does. There is enough "fictionalization" to make it really interesting (yes, the premise of the two princes in the Tower may be a stretch)while at the same time leading the reader down an accurate historical path.

I especially enjoyed all the background material in the back of the book. A copy of the final More Family painting would also have been helpful.

I had never read anything by Vanora Bennett -- I love Sharon Kay Penman, but I would not pass by another by Bennett.

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`You can't live with genius anymore than you can pick up ice or fire.'

In 1527, Hans Holbein makes his first trip to London to paint a portrait of the family of Sir Thomas More. This novel is about the More family, specifically Meg Giggs one of Sir Thomas's foster children, and the two men attracted to her. One is Hans Holbein himself, the other is the mysterious John Clement. Told through the eyes of Meg Giggs, we learn of some of the intrigue in the court as Henry VIII seeks to marry Anne Boleyn and of the mystery surrounding John Clement who ultimately becomes Meg's husband.

I picked up this novel because I am fascinated by the life and times of Sir Thomas More (author of `Utopia' and Chancellor to Henry VIII, in 16th century England). Sir Thomas was a patron to many learned philosophers, astronomers, scholars and painters and his household was both lively and learned.

This is an accomplished first novel: it combines elements of history with fiction in a way that may have readers wondering where the boundaries are. Ms Bennett has included an authorial note and a bibliography which will be of value to those readers seeking more information about the people and events of this period.

I recommend this novel highly to those who enjoy well written historical fiction but especially those who enjoy fiction set in Tudor England.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

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For Fans of Tudor England...and Art History

I enjoyed this perspective on those crazy power mongers who lived during the reign of Henry VIII. Vanora Bennett creates a fictional account of the life of Meg Griggs, Thomas More's adopted daughter. Thomas More being one of King Henry VIII's devoted servants and a staunch defender of Catholicism. Bennett offers us insights into the minds of those who are so devoted that they would risk their lives to defend their ideals and harshly punish those who criticize them.

Meg More is a skilled healer, a young woman who has been educated by scholars. Her father has not made a marriage match for her, as he has for all of his other children and she is lonely.

Hans Holbein the younger has been commissioned to paint a portrait of the More family and arrives at their home at the same time as John Clement their former tutor. Meg has always loved John Clement despite the fact that he is older than her father. Hans Holbein finds Meg's beauty captivating and they become good friends while he paints the family portrait.

While Holbein painted the family portrait Thomas More was in the king's good graces and a position of power and esteem. Years later when Holbein returns to London many things have changed for England as well the More family. As a way to pay his respects Holbein paints a second portrait. (I highly recommend reading the hardcover copy of the book so that you can see the second family portrait.) The second painting is a story without words and the truths within it come tumbling out.

I really enjoyed this novel. I enjoyed the reoccurring theme of mistaken identity and the story of the princes in the tower. Though I have to agree that it has some dry patches and sometimes came off sounding like a lesson from Art History class. But having been a student of art history I didn't mind too much. And I also thought that the momentum built up to the middle and then I wondered where it was going to go. But I think that Vanora Bennett did a very nice job of bringing the story back around again and the ending was well done. In fact the ending was my favorite part. She has created a moving story that touches on truth, honesty, trust and betrayal.

I would recommend this for fans of Phillipa Gregory as well as CJ Sansom.

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In the year 1527, the great portraitist Hans Holbein, fleeing the Protestant Reformation, comes to England under commission to Sir Thomas More. Over the course of the next six years, Holbein paints two nearly identical portraits of the More family, his dear and loyal friends. But closer examination of the second painting reveals several mysteries. . . .

Set against the turmoil and tragedy of Henry VIII's court, Portrait of an Unknown Woman vividly evokes sixteenth-century England on the verge of enormous change?as viewed through the eyes of Meg Giggs, More's intelligent, tenderhearted, headstrong adopted daughter, who stands at the center of this sweeping, extraordinary epic. It is a tale of sin and religion, desire and deception?the story of a young woman on the brink of sensual awakening and a country on the edge of mayhem.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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