You might have gathered by now that I didn't love B.A. Shapiro's historical art thriller (is that even a genre), The Collector's Apprentice. It was okay. I enjoyed learning about the artists, even if the discussions of the art movements didn't make perfect sense to me. I read this book in paper-and-ink format. As I was reading, I'd pull up whatever work of art was being discussed. Interesting that many were housed at The Barnes Foundation Collection. In the acknowledgements, where Shapiro details what parts of the book were historical and what parts were total fiction, she shared that her story is loosely based on The Barnes Foundation, Albert Barnes, and Violette de Mazia. There's so much that isn't based on historical fact. I think I'd be bothered if I was a descendant of Albert Barnes.
(I've passed by The Barnes Foundation Collection several times in the past few years. My older daughter has tried to explain the concept of The Barnes (versus the Philadelphia Museum of Art, let's say) and I never quite understood. Now I do.)
I suppose if you enjoy romance novels, you might enjoy this novel more than I did. It's not over-the-top mushy, romantic. It's not a bodice-ripper. While Paulien Mertens was easily duped by a charming man, Vivienne Gregsby was a strong, intelligent woman, not easily fooled. I found Paulien-who-becomes-Vivienne a sympathetic and admirable character until about two-thirds of the way thru the novel at which point she made a few decisions that made me completely reverse my ideas about the strength of her as a person. That was the point that I just wanted to make it through the end of the book to see how things wrapped up. I gave this one 3-stars on Goodreads.
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