Sleeping embers of an ordinary mind

a novel

No cover

Anne Charnock: Sleeping embers of an ordinary mind (2015, 47North)

244 pages

English language

Published Feb. 23, 2015 by 47North.

ISBN:
978-1-5039-5043-6
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OCLC Number:
913330708

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3 stars (1 review)

"History is storytelling. But some stories remain untold. In fifteenth-century Italy, Paolo Uccello recognizes the artistic talent of his young daughter, Antonia, and teaches her how to create a masterpiece. The girl composes a painting of her mother and inadvertently sparks an enduring mystery. In the present day, a copyist painter receives a commission from a wealthy Chinese businessman to duplicate a Paolo Uccello painting. Together, the painter and his teenage daughter visit China, and in doing so they begin their escape from a tragic family past. In the twenty-second century, a painting is discovered that's rumored to be the work of Paolo Uccello's daughter. This reawakens an art historian's dream of elevating Antonia Uccello, an artist ignored by history because of her gender. Stories untold. Secrets uncovered. But maybe some mysteries should remain shrouded."--Back cover.

3 editions

No sense of closure

3 stars

I received a copy of Sleeping Embers Of An Ordinary Mind by Anne Charnock from its publishers, 47North, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Sleeping Embers Of An Ordinary Mind caught my attention for its wonderful title which I learned is from a Laura Cereta quote. In the book, Charnock tells three stories side-by-side, each tenuously linked by the art of fifteenth century painter Paolo Uccelli and his daughter, thirteen year old Antonia. Antonia's is one of our three protagonists. Living as she really did in fifteenth century Italy, her short life -she died aged thirty-five - was spent primarily within the walls of a convent. Charnock imagines this as the only way her father could ensure her freedom to paint professionally. A husband of the time would surely not have allowed a career for his wife. This rang very true for me having not so long ago …

Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Women painters
  • Young women