Beginning when I was six and Edwin was nine, years before Edwin became an opium addict and an art forger, he taught me how to paint, with patience and humor, despite my father’s protestations that it was a waste of his time. Edwin and I both knew I didn’t have his genius with the brush, but he said that I had something just as valuable—a knack for perceiving people’s secret longings and fears. I suppose he was right. I’d spent my childhood observing the suspicion on my father’s face and the resentment on my mother’s, results of the small daily cruelties they exchanged. But while there had been teasing, there had never been cruelty between Edwin and myself. And Edwin never made me feel stupid, the way I sometimes do at the Slade, even now.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Slade School, on Gower Street, here in London. Four years ago, in 1871, Mr. Felix Slade declared he would open a school where men and women could study art together. Plenty of men railed against the radical idea—not, they insisted, because they objected to ladies studying art; they were enlightened beings, after all. But what was to be done about the anatomy drawing lessons? It was an insoluble problem. In response, Mr. Slade coolly ordered, “Drape the loins,” and four women were admitted to the first class. I entered two years later, and although I have worked studiously six days each week, the resentment my presence causes has barely waned. More than once a man’s foot has caught a leg of my easel as he passed by. I’ve found my canvases slashed and my brushes mysteriously misplaced. Despite this, after two years, I have won some approval from Mr. Poynter for my ability to capture what he calls “the small, telling scene.”
When Edwin was 24, he was tried for forgery. The charges were partially trumped up by a man who wanted to conceal his own role in the profitable scheme, but there was enough truth to convict. Edwin served a year in prison, and when he came out, four months ago, he seemed subdued and reflective, if at times quite low in his mind. He insisted to me that he’d reformed, and he wanted to rebuild our friendship, to earn my trust.
This is the part that is hard for me to relate. You may think me ungenerous but I didn’t leap like a fish to his hook. Too well I recalled the times before my parents died when he’d come home, shamefaced and shaking in the aftermath of opium use. Mama would nurse him back to health, and as Edwin kissed us goodbye, I’d pray that the next time we saw him, he’d be well. But he rarely was. My father eventually spurned him, though my mother never wavered in her devotion. Being not much more than a child, I clung to hope, for all I wanted was for him to be my friend and champion again. And now? I’m older and I know better. He can no more be what he once was than become a winged horse. But now, with each passing week, when Edwin and I meet, and he arrives on time, with clear eyes and steady hands, I trust him a bit more—enough to make the effort, today, to go to his flat to find out why I haven’t heard from him in two weeks. Besides, he is my only family, and I will admit that I want desperately to believe there is someone tied to me by blood whom I can trust.
My work finished for the day, I retrieved my umbrella from the stand and ventured out in the rain. At the terraced house where he rented rooms, I climbed the stairs to the top floor, and saw the door open. That was odd, I thought. Odder still was the sight of two strange men riffling through Edwin’s paintings and papers. I burst out, “What are you doing? Where’s Edwin?” They turned, and I saw the truncheon that one of them carried.
Plainclothes detectives?
The younger man said gently, “I’m so very sorry.” And the look on his face shattered my world like stained glass into shards.
Giveaway: If you could have a forger reproduce any painting to be hung in your home, what would it be? Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of A Trace of Deceit. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends January 19, 2020. Good luck!
A Trace of Deceit is the second book in the “Victorian” historical mystery series, released December 17, 2019.
A young painter digs beneath the veneer of Victorian London’s art world to learn the truth behind her brother’s murder. . .
Edwin is dead. That’s what Inspector Matthew Hallam of Scotland Yard tells Annabel Rowe when she discovers him searching her brother’s flat for clues. While the news is shocking, Annabel can’t say it’s wholly unexpected, given Edwin’s past as a dissolute risk-taker and art forger, although he swore he’d reformed. After years spent blaming his reckless behavior for their parents’ deaths, Annabel is now faced with the question of who murdered him—because Edwin’s death was both violent and deliberate. A valuable French painting he’d been restoring for an auction house is missing from his studio: find the painting, find the murderer. But the owner of the artwork claims it was destroyed in a warehouse fire years ago.
As a painter at the prestigious Slade School of Art and as Edwin’s closest relative, Annabel makes the case that she is crucial to Matthew’s investigation. But in their search for the painting, Matthew and Annabel trace a path of deceit and viciousness that reaches far beyond the elegant rooms of the auction house, into an underworld of politics, corruption, and secrets someone will kill to keep.
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Meet the author
Karen Odden received her Ph.D. in English from NYU, writing on Victorian railway disasters in medical, legal, and popular literature. She has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and her critical essays have appeared in numerous books and journals. Her first book, A Lady In The Smoke, was a USA Today Bestseller, and her second novel A Dangerous Duet won Best Historical Novel at the NM/AZ Book Awards. She lives in Arizona with her family and her muse, Rosy the beagle.
To learn more about Karen, visit her website at karenodden.com.
All comments are welcomed.
I have a photo of a portrait thought to be by Thomas Lawrence. It’s of a young man dressed to participate in a play. It’s beautiful, and I’d love to have it in my home. If I had to settle for a forgery of it, I’d be happy. Thank you for this chance.
Oh, I love Lawrence’s paintings! His portrait of Lady Selina Meade is stunning. Thanks for writing in!
If I could have a painting copied, i would like to have a copy of Monet’s Water Lillies.
Yes, they are stunning! When I lived in New York, there was a whole little area at the MOMA that was just for the Water Lilies. I used to love visiting it. Thanks for writing in!
I really like Lawrence. His portrait of Lady Selina Meade is stunning. Thanks for writing in!
If I were to own a forgery, I’d like something by one of the impressionists. Perhaps Starry Night by Van Gogh.
Purple Irises by Monet….
Thank you for the giveaway…
I would love anything by Howard Terpning or Ray Swanson, famous cowboy artists. Their realistic paintings of native Americans are absolutely breathtaking!
OK, I didn’t know either of these artists and just looked them up. I really like the way Swanson finds echoes between the landscape and the people. So cool. Thank you for sharing! I’ll be picking the winner for the free book later today. If you’d like updates about my book and blog news, please send me your email address. All information is kept confidential. Thank you for writing in, and I hope you enjoy my books!
Yes. I have a little postcard of Van Gogh’s Cafe Terrace on my bulletin board. 🙂 I bought it years ago at the Met in NYC. But I love his Starry Night, too. His paintings make me feel as if I’m present, transported to the places. Thanks for writing in!
It would definitely be Starry Nights by Vincent Van Gogh! I absolutely love it. Thank you for the chance!
I would want a painting of Mona Lisa to be put in my home. I was always intrigued by her half smile. So I would want a forger to reproduce this painting. To be hung in the living room. Can’t wait to read this book.
Yes, I love Mona Lisa 🙂 I saw it in the Louvre once … amidst about a million people taking pictures of it with their phones. So I have to say, da Vinci has a special place in my heart because I trace my appreciation of art to a day back in November 1994 when I was working at Christie’s in NYC, and they were auctioning da Vinci’s CODEX HAMMER, one of his notebooks with his famous mirror writing; its most famous image is probably the Vitruvian Man (the man with outstretched arms inside the circle). The bidding began around 5 million and was eventually sold for $28 million to Bill Gates. It was so intense … it was the first time I felt down to my bones how suspense and story could swirl around art. It’s partly what inspired me to write this book. Thanks for writing in!
I would like to have a forgery of just about anything by Gustav Klimt. A Trace of Deceit sounds like a great read — thanks for featuring it on your blog, Dru Ann ~
Oooo … Klimt’s THE KISS is one of my fave pieces of art ever. So beautiful. Thanks for writing in!
I would like to have a forgery of Seurat’s Sunday afternoon on the Island of Le grand Jatte. Thanks for the giveaway!
It’s a lovely painting, isn’t it? My daughter goes to school in Chicago, and I got to see it for real in the Art Institute. I wasn’t expecting to see it; I came around a corner, and there it was. 🙂 Thanks for writing in!
A forgery of a Marc Chagall painting would be wonderful.
Yes, I love his work, too. His colors are amazing. I remember reading the story about him barely getting out of Vichy France — just nerve-wracking. Thanks for writing in!
This book sounds amazing. If I were to have a forgery in my home, I would love it to be William McTaggart’s The Sailing of the Emigrant Ship (1895).
OK, I’d never heard of that painting, so I just looked it up. It’s beautiful! Thank you for sharing, and for writing in!
It would depend on the forger’s particular skills. Would she do a better job on a Breughel, a Van Gogh, a Benton, or an O’Keefe?
Hmmm! Annabel’s brother Edwin can do anything … but I like that you’re thinking about a *woman* forger. I’m actually thinking of putting a woman forger in my next book … Thanks for writing in!
I would love a forgery of a painting from The Group of Seven.
I’m learning all kinds of new things! I had never heard of the Group of Seven. Just looked them up–Canadian landscape painters. Very cool! Thanks for sharing, and for writing in!
Girl Before a Mirror by Picasso. Wonderful.
When I was working at Christie’s in NYC, in 1995, PIcasso’s “Mirror” (not the Girl before a Mirror, but has something of the same feel, to me, at least) sold for $20MM, nearly double the estimate. It was insane. I think it made front page of the Times. 🙂 Thanks for writing in.
Having just seen an exhibit of Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings and clothing, I’m inclined to ask for one of her works.
Yes, her works are breathtaking. Years ago my husband and I went to Santa Fe and spent some time at the O’Keeffe museum there. We loved it. (Where did you see the exhibit? I’m curious about the clothing angle.) Thanks for writing in.
The Mona Lisa
Linda, above, made the same pick–Mona Lisa! As I wrote to her, da Vinci has a special place in my heart because I was in the sale room at Christie’s when his Codex Hammer was auctioned for $28MM to Bill Gates. It was absolutely thrilling. Still gives me chills thinking about it. Thanks for writing in!
The Soul of The Rose by Waterhouse. I’ve had the cross stitch of it to work on for years and I hope to eventually finish it as it’ll be the one project I keep!
Oh, that painting is gorgeous! And she’s a redhead (like me) — grin!
I can’t believe you’re doing a cross-stitch of it. I’m in awe. I did a cross-stitch once, about 10″ x 12″ (much less ambitious than yours). My friends got used to seeing it because I took it everywhere, trying to complete it. I think it took almost a year. When I finally finished, I had it framed and it hangs in my wall as a visual reminder of how projects (like writing books) can take seemingly FOREVER, and you just have to keep on, one stitch and one sentence at a time. 🙂 Thanks for writing in.
Van Gogh’s Irises – my favorite.
Yes! The blueish-purple of them is brilliant, isn’t it?
Thanks for writing in!
Tough decision! I love the Impressionists, Charlie Russell, Remington, O’Keefe, Winslow Homer, and many,many more. I’ll choose a self portrait of a rascal: The Yellow Scale by Kupka, painted around 1907.
Yet another painting I’d never heard of! I just looked up your rascal 🙂 What a face he has. Thank you for sharing, and for writing in.
Woman in Gold. It’s always been a favorite of mine.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it? You reminded me that I have the movie Woman in Gold on DVD and still haven’t watched it! Have you? It’s supposed to be very good. Thanks for writing in!
I love this question! I’m an artist, but not a painter, so I had to think about this for awhile. I would choose a Kandinsky. But then I would have to choose which one? I love his vibrant color and use of geometric shapes, pattern, and repetition.
I hear you–although when faced with Kandinsky I often feel the way I do when I’m reading a book like James’s Ulysses. That is, when I read Ulysses, I’m not immersed in the story; I’m constantly aware that I’m reading, and that I’m working to make sense of the words because the book is largely *about* word play and writing. That’s how I feel when I look at Kandinsky–that the painting is about painting–as opposed to, say, 19th-century paintings like Soul of the Rose, mentioned above. When I lived in NYC I used to go to the MOMA, and they had some of his work there. Thanks for writing in! 🙂
Oops, I meant James Joyce’s Ulysses 🙂
Ohh anything Degas…I love the style and how delicate his subject matter is…great combo to me.
I agree. There’s a room in the Met that is darkened because light affects the pastels, and I love that room. Mostly the ballet dancers. 🙂
I would want Starry Night.
You’re the second one to say Starry Night! It IS a gorgeous painting. Thanks for writing in! I’m going to pick the winner of the free book later this afternoon. Please send me your email if you’d like me to put you on my email list for book and blog news 🙂
I would love the Mona Lisa.
That’s three votes for Mona Lisa! As I said above, Da Vinci has a special place in my heart because I was in the auction room at Christie’s when his Codex Hammer (notebook with the famous Vitruvian Man, in the circle, with his outstretched arms) was sold in 1994 for $28MM. That was one of the inspirations for this book. I’ll be picking the winner of the free book later today. Please send me your email address if you’d like to receive updates about my books and blog. All names and addresses are kept confidential. Thanks for writing in!
You’re vote #3 for Mona! As I wrote above, da Vinci occupies a special place in my heart because I was in the room at Christie’s auction house in 1994 when his notebook, the Codex Hammer, featuring the famous Vitruvian Man (with his arms outstretched, and in a circle) was sold for $28MM. That moment was part of the inspiration for my book. Thanks for writing in! And if you’d like to be added to my confidential mailing list, for updates on books and my blog, please go to my website http://www.karenodden.com and click the STAY IN TOUCH tab. Thanks for writing in, and I’ll be picking the winner for the free book later today!
Congratulations to Celia Fowler … who has won a free copy of A TRACE OF DECEIT!
For anyone who would like updates about my book and blog, please go to my website, http://www.karenodden.com, click the confidential STAY IN TOUCH tab, and enter your email address. Celia, please do the same and include your mailing address as well, so I can mail your free book.
Thanks to all of you for sharing your favorite paintings and introducing me to some new painters. I hope you find and enjoy my Victorian mysteries. Cheers!