Travel back in time to Paris, and the world of Toulouse-Lautrec with this charming story…
What child doesn’t enjoy listening to their grandparents’ tales? Being transported back through time to another era, when everything was different. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to experience it first hand? This is a hugely enjoyable romp through time to the glorious days of the Belle Epoque in Paris…
The Can-Can Girl and the Mysterious Woman in Pink review
For as long as she can remember, Adrienne’s grandmother Marguerite Kingsley, has always been infatuated by a painting she once owned. Now donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the famous painting is called At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance, by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Her fascination was such, that as a child, Adrienne had fond memories of listening to the stories her grandmother would tell, of the people in the painting, and the lives they led. Now an adult living in San Francisco, her grandmother’s love of art has followed through to her. She enjoys working in the nearby arts district, organising and hosting exhibitions.
However, no-one lives forever, and when her beloved grandmother whispers an urgent plea to her on her death bed, Adrienne is not sure how she can accomplish it. After all, her grandmother can’t know what she has asked, how can she expect her to carry out her last wish, when Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec has been dead for one hundred and sixteen years?
Then, as if ordained, fate steps in. A small item of her grandmothers, and the contents of a box that she kept by her bed, pique Adrienne’s interest. Intrigued at what she has discovered, she decides to investigate further. In her quest for answers, she finds herself studying the painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Arts.
One minute she is in Philadelphia 2016, and in the next she is transported back in time to the Moulin Rouge in September 1900. Fascinated, she discovers that she is seems to be actually living in history. She is in the painting, here are the actual people her grandmother told the stories about. She finds that the stories were not made up as she imagined, but were true, her grandmother had actually been there. How could this be?
She watches the can-can girls perform, and takes in the incredible atmosphere of the place. Then – she sees him, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and wonders, can she fulfil her promise?
This is a very cleverly written story, Pamela Boles Eglinski has managed to capture the very essence of this incredible painting, and life in the Belle Époque peak of the post-impressionism period. As a lover of Paris especially around beautiful Montmartre, I adore the way this exciting district has been brought to life in this story, and I am looking forward to its sequel.
