Notes
GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE
6/10/07
Dear Susan
"Still Life" [from Girl in Hyacinth Blue] is the greatest meditation on art ever written.
Charlo, (Malta)
6/17/09
Dear Ms. Vreeland
Portions of your book approached Dostoyevsky.
Thanks,
Peter Satrun
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3/2/2010
Dear Ms Vreeland
Girl in Hyacinth Blue is exquisite. Your novel has the feel of oral history to me, the
sense of listening to ordinary people talking about their lives - it
captivates me that you achieve this through fiction. You show how a
painting reflects the differing perspectives of artist, subject and
successive audiences and layer this with the impact art has at the
soul level, how vital art is for "ordinary" people. Each of
your stories brings to the foreground what it is to be human: to
love, desire, yearn, lose and to live with the consequences of our
choices.The way you structured these stories is breathtaking.
Thank you for the experience,
Cath Mason
Dear Mrs. Susan Vreeland,
Your book Girl in Hyacinth Blue was a wonderful novel. Each short story was one I could relate to. The stories of love, and pain were well written. I couldn't ask for anything better. These stories connected to me through more than the meanings of them but through each character's connection with the painting. They are the true showing of the lives people live, from all the little things that matter, to all the big things. Each character and story is connected through a love for something or someone, or longing to be like the girl in the painting. Everyone has these feelings and you described them truly. You did a wonderful job. I loved it!
Sincerely,
Anastasia Prozorova
9/12/06
Ms. Vreeland,
I'm writing because I opted to use GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE in a freshman seminar course
I'm teaching this semester entitled "Knowledge and the Art of Creative Writing". The main
text is John Gardner's THE ART OF FICTION. I believed of course, that your book would work
well in illustrating both good writing and "the main thrust of the course" every ambitious
author's obligation to acquire a broad base of knowledge, and then to adopt the attitude of
a lifelong learner. I just wanted to tell you that, now that I am working my way carefully
through your book with the students, it exceeds my most optimistic expectations. Again and
again you provide beautifully clear examples of so many of the points in Gardner's book, his
insights into what makes good fiction. You are a master of it. Thank you for many hours of
reading pleasure, those past and those yet to come.
Kurt Corriher, Ph.D.
Director, Ketner Center for International Studies
Catawba College, Salisbury, NC
THE PASSION OF ARTEMISIA
2/8/03
After reading your Artemisia, Florence and Rome are, for me, more beautiful. Thank you, and thank to Neri Pozza for publish this.
Luciano Ramella
Pavia, Italy
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4/22/12
Dear Mrs. Vreeland,
"I'm an Italian student. I'm 18 and I'm going to do the final exam at the scientific liceum.
The passion of Artemisia was given to me by my uncle as a gift on Christmas 2010.
I loved this book as nothing else. I loved your deep analysis of the female nature and its
mixture with art. Besides, it talks about all Italian places that I have visited and found
so beautiful. This book, your words, helped me in a difficult period of my life so I'll always
have to be graceful to you. After reading Artemisia I bought Clara and Mr Tiffany and Luncheon
of the Boating Party (Renoir belongs to my favourite artistic movement). I finished them and
I'm going to start reading Forest lover but the study, the sport and my activity in the church
don't leave me so much time. I'm sure I'll read it this summer and I would really love to
continue reading all your books. This is me in a few words. Please excuse me for the mistakes
in the English language but I'm not perfect at speaking and writing it. I can't wait for the
22nd when you are in Rome and I'll never stop to thank you for your words. Nobody else had
been able to capture me before as you, Dear Mrs Vreeland!"
Arianna Turriziani Colonna
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
Thank you for introducing me into the life of Artemisia Gentileschi. The passion that you have portrayed in your novel has moved me to learn all that I can about this truly remarkable woman that I had never heard about. I have never been interested in art and now I find myself researching all that I can to learn. With this book you have driven me into a new world that I am so wanting to know more about.
I attended one of your book signings in Northern, VA this past Feb. I had not read the book yet, but was very intrigued by your talk. Thank you for giving me a new passion.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Camesi
4/22/12
Dear Mrs. Vreeland,
"I'm an Italian student. I'm 18 and I'm going to do the final exam at the scientific liceum.
The passion of Artemisia was given to me by my uncle as a gift on Christmas 2010.
I loved this book as nothing else. I loved your deep analysis of the female nature and its
mixture with art. Besides, it talks about all Italian places that I have visited and found
so beautiful. This book, your words, helped me in a difficult period of my life so I'll always
have to be graceful to you. After reading Artemisia I bought Clara and Mr Tiffany and Luncheon
of the Boating Party (Renoir belongs to my favourite artistic movement). I finished them and
I'm going to start reading Forest lover but the study, the sport and my activity in the church
don't leave me so much time. I'm sure I'll read it this summer and I would really love to
continue reading all your books. This is me in a few words. Please excuse me for the mistakes
in the English language but I'm not perfect at speaking and writing it. I can't wait for the
22nd when you are in Rome and I'll never stop to thank you for your words. Nobody else had
been able to capture me before as you, Dear Mrs Vreeland!"
Arianna Turriziani Colonna
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
Thank you for introducing me into the life of Artemisia Gentileschi. The passion that you have portrayed in your novel has moved me to learn all that I can about this truly remarkable woman that I had never heard about. I have never been interested in art and now I find myself researching all that I can to learn. With this book you have driven me into a new world that I am so wanting to know more about.
I attended one of your book signings in Northern, VA this past Feb. I had not read the book yet, but was very intrigued by your talk. Thank you for giving me a new passion.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Camesi
11/13/07
Dear Susan:
I recently finished reading your book 'The Passion of Artemisia' and I wanted to thank you for writing it. As a woman artist (painter), your work speaks to me. I very much enjoyed both 'The Forest Lover' and 'Girl in Hyacinth Blue' (I have 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' and 'Life Studies' on order) and was thrilled to find 'Artemisia' at a time when I truly needed her.
My mother passed away a couple months ago. I have been feeling her absence and missing her badly. I was unable to paint for a while and although I had slowly started again I was feeling no passion for it. I was worried because it has always been my passion and I missed the joy it brings me. As I began to read your wonderful novel about Artemisia Gentileschi, the flames of my passion began to ignite again. Reading of her struggle and her sacrifices made me feel so fortunate to be a woman artist in this day and age. How much we take for granted.
I felt as though you were touching my soul and telling me exactly what I needed to hear with the line on page 281 when Artemisia is talking to her father: "We've been lucky...We have been able to live by what we love. And to live painting, as we have, wherever we have, is to live passion and imagination and connection and adoration, all the best of life--to be more alive than the rest."
I have been so fortunate to have been able to make my living for over twenty years by selling my art--to "live painting". It was all I had ever wanted. In my grief I had forgotten how lucky I am. Thank you for reminding me. The painting I was working on while reading your book took on a life of its own. I pushed it a step beyond and it is one of my best. The passion is back.
Warm regards,
Joan White
Lakewood, WI
2/7/06
Dear Susan,
I have just finished reading two of your books, "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" and "The Passion of Artemisia." I was fascinated by "Girl in Hyacinth Blue." Both books I stayed up late to read and got up early to begin again, thoroughly upsetting my calendar for the day. Marvelous. When I picked up "The Passion of Artemisia" I was thunderstruck. It was in a different country than the first book. I'm in awe and amazement at your research of countries and cultures and their effect on the individuals. But most of all, I was transported by the spirituality of Artemisia. I started marking the places that spoke to me, and then I quit. It was too hard to keep up. On page 148, I loved the statement, "Regardless of Galileo's logic, the highest of arts is to uplift the spirit, whatever means one uses," at the end of a long paragraph on faith and trust of God. Others I loved: "See yourself as God made you." (p.20); "My soul, even my little soul, makes the Lord more magnificent by something I had to offer" (p. 21); "As long as you hold onto your pain, you will live a mean, bitter life." (p.37). It was a wonderful experience to imagine the life behind the artists and the paintings. I loved your sentence structure and the way you kept me reading. Thank you.
Shirley Valley,
La Mesa, CA
4/20/06
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
I'm an Italian girl of 15 years old, Vittoria. I live in Lerici, a little village by the sea near Cinque Terre and Genova, at the border with Toscana. It's 17.47, but we're in April, so here in my room there's still a lot of light.
I've already finished "The Passion of Artemisia". It' s a book that opened my eyes. During these days, while I was reading it, I felt very free and different. Through Artemisia I felt alive. Now, if I lean out of the window and I observe the sea, I feel gratified. Yesterday afternoon I wished to eat an apple and to ride the bike. I know that all the things I'm writing haven't sense, but however I feel that are all connected with this book. I need to tell all my feelings.
You know, this is a time in my life during that I think a lot about the type of woman I want to be. I'd like to be independent, and work. But at the same time my first dream is to have a family and love.
Even if Artemisia lived centuries ago, I feel her story near, and still current.
I'd like to know your objective opinion about Artemisia's choices (especially about the marriage and love).
Finally, I would be very pleased if you could tell me where nowdays I can find some Artemisia's paintings.
Grazie
Vittoria
P.S. I apologize for my bad English!
9/18/03
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
I have just finished listening to "The Passion of Artemisia".Thank you for writing such a beautiful book. My daughter Elisabeth is 23 and a newly married artist. Although I have been very supportive of all her decisions, it wasn't until listening to your book that I began to truly understand her need to pursue painting. Elisabeth paints for hours at a time and often refers to feeling content. She has tried to explain the difference between contentment and happiness. Now I think I understand. If we are concerned only with being happy, we deny ourselves a large part of the realm of human emotions. Contentment comes when we do what we know we must, regardless of the consequences and resulting emotions we are facing. With this new understanding my pride in my daughter has grown even stronger. Thank you again.
Respectfully,
Kevin M. Doherty,
Chicago, Illinois
8/12/03
The reason I am writing is that as I read the end of the chapter "Lucrezia" I developed a lump in my throat and then tears came to, and fell from, my eyes. I don't think that has ever happened to me in over 40 years of reading for pleasure. As I write this I am surprised to feel the same thing again. That is the highest compliment I can think of to pay you for your talent. I hope that I have an opportunity to shake your hand one day.
Kindest regards,
Kate Engler
9/22/2002
How often do you wish a movie would just go on and on or a book would never end? I've been reading an historical fiction called "The Passion of Artemisia" by Susan Vreeland. Susan writes gently and delicately, yet directly about a life of harshness, hardship, betrayal, courage, dignity and great beauty. It is an interesting insight and comparison between the seventeenth and the twenty-first centuries. So much has changed. So little has changed.
And at the end Artemisia is able to say to her brilliant but disreputable father, "We've been lucky. We've been able to live by what we love. And to live (in italics) painting, as we have, wherever we have, is to live passion and imagination and connection and adoration, all the best of life -- to be more alive than the rest."
"Than who? More alive than who?"
"Than my own daughter, for one. I feel life more intensely than she does. I take its bite as fully as its beauties. I hope that means I'll come to die contented that I have really lived."
"You don't have any regrets?"
And I will leave it there. Obviously I cannot command the talent of either
Gentileschi nor Vreeland. But I can say that this book challenged me to
think about my own life and my own work. And maybe I can consider those two
things in a broader way, thanks to the work that Susan Vreeland does.
Thelma Smith
5/25/2002
After hearing you speak at the Concord Bookshop in Concord, MA., my friend and I read The Girl in Hyacinth Blue. In fact, I've read it several times now. We suggested it to our book group for a reading selection. Needless to say, it was loved by all and inspired lots of wonderful conversation. My friend and I were able to share some of your story about your illness and the saving affect art had on your recovery. I felt a strong compulsion to see Vermeer's work in NYC. I tried to get there but was too intimidated to drive to NYC. Depending on someone else to make it happen meant it never happened. So I missed the show and have only a lovely Vermeer poster hanging in my living room to bring a little of his art to my life.
When we heard you were coming back to Concord, MA and had written The Passion of Artemisia ,we suggested that our book group meeting be at the book store. Several of us made it there and listened again as you so beautifully read from the book and shared about the art and history of that time. I was hooked. Then and there!! This time I HAD to see the Artemisia and Orazio Gentileschi show at the MET. How lucky to be living in a place where these works of art are available. I was not going to let my insecurities get in the way again. So, three of us from our book group, determined to get ourselves to NYC, got in the car on a Sat morning and drove to NYC all by ourselves!! Yes, we drove in, found a place to park, even visited one woman's daughter that lives in the city, had lunch and went to the show. I cried when I saw her paintings. It was incredible to see in person the art that I felt like I had watched her paint. I cried because we were THERE, I cried for Artemisia, I cried for me, I cried for you, and I cried for the friendship that a three hour trip car ride nourishes.
I continue to cry as I write this thinking about her story, her art, our lives, our fears, our possibilities. The sense of satisfaction and the excitement of conquering a fear to witness such beauty was more than I could take. I knew I needed to thank you for the inspiration and the story telling that made this all possible.
So, this e-mail is a thank you. It is my clumsy effort to let you know that your writing has changed a life. My life. We have since driven to NYC again for the day with me at the wheel. There is a new confidence in my way of living. Small life changes compared to most, but major for me. Thank you for inspiring me to reach a little deeper to find ways to experience the world around me. Thank you for sharing the story of your illness and strength. Your writing and your life have truly inspired me in so many ways. Thank you.
Thais Savage
THE FOREST LOVER
6/11/12
Dear Susan Vreeland,
Since discovering "The Passion of Artemisia," I have devoured your books one after the other...I couldn't put down "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" - such a good idea to follow a painting's journey through the centuries...I loved the wonderful imagination with which you spun the story of "The Luncheon of the Boating Party."
It really brought the time, place, and people to life for me, and I will now look at Renoir with new eyes. Your story "Crayon, 1955" moved me deeply, and I enjoyed all the stories in "Life Studies" tremendously.
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The most moving of all, so far, and a great revelation to me, is the book I've just finished reading: "The Forest Lover." I have a BFA in drawing and painting but I had never heard of Emily Carr (for shame!).
The thoughts and words you had your Emily Carr convey were perhaps worth more to me than all the art history classes I've taken. They may even make me take up the brush again.
The struggle for believable foreshortening or proportion, etc., will now take a backseat to spontaneity and the search for the spirit of the subject.
You conveyed beautifully Emily's inner struggle to find that spirit by connecting with how the subject made her feel, and also the idea that her art was about her own spiritual journey, whether anyone else responded or not.
I am looking forward to reading "Clara and Mr. Tiffany," but I must take it slow, because what will I do when I've finished it?
Sincerely,
Lillian Silverstone
8/20/2010
Dear Susan,
Thank you for writing The Forest Lover. I have just finished reading
it for the fourth time. I have read most of it to my children as well
but am waiting for them to get a bit older before finishing it.
Harold's story is too real and Sophie's loss too big for their innocence.
After reading it the first time I could not ignore the call to follow. I
have made it to Alert Bay and saw Dzunukwa. Your book inspires me to
seek the beauty and romanticism I know lives deep within every
spirit. I think it must affect every reader because I have to buy
another copy every time I lend it! No one wants to give back the
words on the pages that lifted their soul to such wondrous heights,
nor broke them so completely with repeated triumphs over
unbearable loss!
Again, thank you for so much time well spent lost in a story.
Susan Morrison
3/19/04
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
Once I read a book, I never (almost never) read it again because I feel I
have learned just about all it has to tell me and there are so many
other books waiting to be read. But I will be reading The
Forest Lover again, not really to pick up anything I might have
missed the first time, but just to be transported back to times and
places you have recreated so vividly and lovingly, for the emotional
experience, for the scenes I remember so fondly or wish that I had
seen with my own eyes, and to again be with people of the first part
of the last century, before everybody knew everything. Thank you for
the years you have spent on your book.
Sincerely,
Verne Wade
7/16/04
Dear Susan Vreeland,
...It is incredible to me how you are able to share the vision of Emily
Carr in such an authentic and sensitive fashion. Reading your book
was an unmitigated pleasure to me.
Fleming McConnell
Victoria, British Columbia
6/23/2010
Ms. Vreeland
I finished reading your novel, "The Forest Lover," early this
morning and I wanted to say thank you for writing such a lovely,
lovely book. Not only was the writing exquisite and the descriptions
of the Pacific Northwest forests absolutely perfect, you also were
able to describe exactly how to see/feel colors the way a Fauvist
would have...For the first time ever, I can say that I understand
what I'm looking at, what I should be feeling, and what, perhaps, the
artist was trying to say through her paintings. While I understood
the importance of the French artists who developed Fauvism and the
impact it had on art history, I couldn't "see" it until I
read your descriptions of Emily learning to "see" in France
and later in Canada. I had never heard of Emily Carr before reading
your book, and I can say that I am going to devour everything I can
find about her...all due to the power of your novel. I can say with
complete certainty that certain passages in your book took my breath
away with how beautifully you wrote... You made me homesick, educated
me, brought tears to my eyes and entertained me. I am most certainly
going to read your other books and I look forward to your newest
coming out in January 2011.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
With kindest regards,
Corinne Mangan
Charlottesville, VA
Dear Ms. Vreeland;
I have to thank you with all my heart for this book. I grew up in Port
Hardy, British Columbia. I played floor hockey against the native
girls in Alert Bay with my native friends from Port Hardy. The
Kwakiutl chief James Wallace and my mother wrote a book together
called Kwakiutl Legends. My mother and father were invited to a potlatch.
I have lived near and camped on the Skeena River, and have explored Kitwanga.
In spite of this
compassionate exposure to the plight and loss experienced by First
Nations People, I now see how superficial and intellectual my
understanding was (is). I didn't understand at all (or didn't want
to). We Canadians have been brought up guilty for what our ancestors
did to First Nations Peoples, and we are tired of saying sorry. Shame
is very uncomfortable. We are usurpers, yet we are Canadians and now
we belong here too. Through reading your book, I realize that our
education has been from the outside. You have caused me to see from
the inside, and it has done me a world of good. I cried so much
reading this book, (very unusual for me), and now I am longing to
look again, learn, and just listen. Thank you so much for your deep,
perceptive knowledge of the land. I know a little of those forests,
those beaches, for they are in my blood. I run to them to heal myself
in their rhythmic silence. It was so good to smell and taste them
again. You have written with such grace and honour. I really feel
that this is a sacred work. You are a beautiful soul.
With deep gratitude,
Carmen Sicotte
8/9/09
Dear Susan Vreeland
I bought The Forest Lover to
read on my annual Brittany holiday because an internet search came up
with it as a novel with a Breton setting. When I found it began in
Canada I was disappointed. For about two paragraphs and then I was
hooked. Thank you for this big, beautiful novel which, amongst other
things, moved me to tears, I confess, and inspired me to paint again.
In the interest of artistic exchange I would love to send you a copy
of my poetry book.
Thank you.
Sincerely
Martin Reed
West Malvern, England
Dear Susan,
I started The Forest Lover last Thursday and just finished a bit
ago and I'm simply overwhelmed at its beauty.You've managed to put
into words what Emily tried to put into her paintings.It's not just
the characters and the sense that while we know another person, we
will never understand all of their vast inner spaces, although that
is certainly present. It's that the whole book is lush and green,
just as in the forests you describe. Even the dark spaces are there
to highlight the happy parts. As for the artist, you've rebuilt
her just as Dzunukwa, herself. I'm from a small town here in
the Midwest of America and if you've kindled an immense interest &
respect for Carr's work in me, I cannot grasp the scope of what you
do for her on a worldwide level. So mostly I wanted to thank you for
the great weekend of reading. It was a good share, indeed.
Awaiting the next one,
Shawna Elder,
Iowa City, IA
6/6/06
I just finished reading (savouring) your novel on Emily Carr. I was so moved and inspired by this book. I live in Victoria, have known about Emily Carr for years and even seen some of her paintings. But until I read your book I was not particularly interested in her or her life. Now I am reading about her in The Art of Emily Carr, and plan to read some of her books too. I realize that, as you wrote in the afterword, this is a novel not a biography, and that some of the people are composites of various people, etc. Nonetheless, I want what you wrote to be true and so I choose to hold it in my heart as at least an emotional truth about her life. I wept when Billy died, I wept for Sophie, I wept for Harold. Thank you so much for your inspiration, for the tenderness with which you told of Emily's life. What a wonderful gift you have given with this story.
Sincerely,
Deb Thiessen, Park Interpreter,
Regional Parks of British Columbia
2/14/06
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
I am so full of awe and praise for your talents that I hope I don't sound like a blunderhead. Yesterday I finished reading "The Forest Lover". I become part of that book as I read. Parts of it actually brought me to tears. Parts made me laugh out loud. I certainly related to the feeling of being closer to God in His wondrous landscapes. I've gushed to everyone who would listen to me this past week about how great your book is, and how they must read it. Now...because of "The Forest Lover" and Emily Carr, I must go back to the Pacific Northwest and take it all in through different eyes.
MaryAnn Stokes,
Michigan
1/5/06
Dear Susan,
I just finished the book, The Forest Lover. Your portrayal of Emily Carr and the inner struggles that she must have dealt with have given me courage and made sense of many things in my life.
Emily's love of the forest and indigenous culture are things that I relate to with all of my heart. I deal with the paradox of my romantic leanings toward Native American culture and the grim realities of what it means to be indigenous in the present time. I am of Cherokee heritage and these issues have woven their ways through my psyche and my dreams and therefore my art. I know that there is no easy answer, no simple way to sum up what it is to be American or Native American. No simple way to describe our relationship to the earth and the spirits and power that nature holds. Reading your book has done what good art does: it let me look at myself and possibly understand my own reactions, dreams, and life views a bit better. Oh, and it also challenges my viewpoints; that's an important thing.
The ideas in your story that were powerful to me, besides the struggle to paint what Emily felt, were those of the disconnection that a person can feel in his or her own family, the injustice of how people who are "misfits" are treated in society as in the case of Harold Cook. That whole portion of the story ripped at my heart. I think that the voice you gave to his autobiography was worthy and true in getting across his yearnings. I read that Harold Cook's writings were never found and that is a tragedy. Your writings have made his voice speak. In a very universal sense, you have honored these people in a way that they never could have received in their own lifves. Sophie's friendship with Emily was another poignant account in how we can feel so close to someone and yet not know them at all. It also underscores the truth that although we think we can understand another culture truly, there is no absolute way to do that without being born to the culture.
Your portrayal about the ways in which European society tried to change indigenous ways brutally and inhumanely were perhaps the biggest strength of this book. Emily's outrage over these things was one of the central themes in her life and painting, from what I understand. It's good for people to look at these issues because they really are present still today.
Anyhow, thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this story. It is such a worthy tale and your writing was sensitive and filled with the visual beauty that only a real art lover can craft.
-- Lisa Gatz,
Visalia, CA
12/15/05
I have just finished The Forest Lover. I had to write while the feelings were still in my heart. Thank you. It was one of the most engaging books I have ever read. To you my dear wonderful woman, I cannot say enough about your writing style, always filled with little surprises along the way. Easy to follow. I cried, I laughed, I recreated facial expressions and gestures and sounds from your descriptions as I read. It was almost like watching a movie, and being in it at the same time! And of course you know you have made a new recruit to the Emily Carr fan club... My connection with Emily Carr has become almost spiritual vicariously through you. Your sensitivity to writing about a life that well deserved the attention is admirable. Even the Author's Afterword speaks to the integrity of your work.
Thank you again, for taking the time to share your creativity. This work has left an indelible impression on my soul. A cherished memory to remember and hold as an example whenever I think I have already expended enough energy towards my art.
Blessings,
-- Rosalind Nzinga Nichol,
New Jersey
6/20/05
I'm pleased to inform you that your book The Forest Lover has been selected for Outstanding Achievement recognition by the Wisconsin Library Association's Literary Awards Committee. We reviewed more than 250 books and selected ten for Outstanding Achievement.
-- Sandy Sechrest,
Chair Literary Awards Committee
4/5/04
FROM MAPLE RIDGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA
A long time ago when I was young I had the opportunity to see some of Emily Carr's work. Heard stories about her life and always has a special interest when people were discussing her. Over the last several years I have begun a collection of her books and have also picked up most books that were written about her by her friends and acquaintances. I have just completed reading your book and found it to be the best. Your insight into life and the perspective of the time is wonderful. I understand it took you seventeen years to write this book. I'm so glad you stuck with it as it truly has a wonderful insight. The spirit of EMC comes through in your book. Your knowledge of the struggles of the west coast native is remarkable, your insight into the Canadian establishment, and your neglect of a group who tried to ride her shirt tails, and your connection with her love for critters all make the book the best. Your book catches part of Canadian history which no one around here has been able to capture. Emily's spirit in native art and forest, trees and life, you have captured them all.
Thanks from all of us up here,
Fred ELDER
2/27/04
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
I applaud your fantastic presentation at Warwick's tonight about The Forest Lover. I so thoroughly loved your dramatic reading/recitations with creative gestures, I wondered if you have considered reading The Forest Lover on audio tapes. You interrelated so well with the audience answering questions and demonstrating the progression of Carr's evolution of portraying trees with her pictures. Your presentation was very informative, instructional about how to write historical novels, culturally enlightening with a growth of appreciation, and spiritually and philosophically inspiring. Your conclusion cannot be surpassed. Thank you so much for all the lives you have touched and will touch. I thought how lucky your students were to have had you as their teacher.
Sincerely,
Mary F. Templer
LIFE STUDIES
6-12-2010
Dear Susan
Two actors ... have agreed to do a dramatic reading of your stories "The
Cure" and "Uncommon Clay" at my parish....This
performance would culminate the five-week multi-parish,
multi-denominational book study of your Life Studies and would
be a fundraiser for the parish, which will study how to enhance its
environment and worship space with art. ... Life Studies
would be perfect. I'd love to tie it in with Swiss theologian Hans
Urs Von Balthasar's idea of experiencing beauty as synonymous, in a
sacramental sense, as experiencing God, who is the Source of all
Beauty. This would allow me to explore with my people the
often-overlooked field of aesthetics and art in Christian life and
worship....
God bless,
Fr. Marc
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5/12/05
Dear Susan,
I am reading Life Studies and have just finished "At Least Five Hundred Words, with Sincerity and Honesty". It would interest you to know that the copy of Life Studies I am reading was checked out from the library here in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It is bound in a plain blue cover with a black and white photocopy of the title and author portion of your original cover laminated to it. The cover artwork would have had the book censored I guess. I am awfully glad to have found it in the new book section.
--a reader from Saudi Arabia
LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY
8/15/12
Hello Susan!
My name is Emily. I'm 14 and I'm from Poland so forgive me my language mistakes. I've just read your fantastic book Luncheon of the Boating Party. It was one of the best books I've ever read if not the best. I love Paris from XIX and early XX century and I also love art, any art, books, theatre, painture, music and I found it all in your book. When everything was art and art was everything. I've read 400 pages in two days. I was so amazed by atmosphere which you gave by word. I felt France. I felt emotions. I felt smell of new paint when Auguste was painting.
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Renoir wasn't my favourite painture, I prefer Degas, but when I've read Luncheon... and now I feel like I know Alphonsine, Angele, Ellen, Antonio, Gustave, Aline, Alphonse, Charles, Paul, Pierre, Jules, Raoul and Jeanne, I really enjoy this painting and I also like Renoir much more when I've read about him altough I was pretty mad when he chosed Aline over Alphonsine. My favourite character was Angele. She was realy simple and funny, but also really chick and smart. It is really amazing that everyone on that picture had their life, their dreams, their feelings. I think it is everything I want to tell you for now, but if I would meet you in person, my mouth wouldn't take a holiday, I am so impressed by your book. Hope you'll answer. I just wanted you to know that if I would do anything with art you would have big influence on that.
With love and respect,
Emily ( Emilia ) Osmolska
Dear Susan Vreeland,
I am absolutely LOVING "Luncheon of the Boating Party"! What you have done! The construction of a masterpiece; the ideas, decisions, resolve, ephiphanies, observations, ambition, practicalities, context, humor; the man, the artist! It is like your book was written just for ME. I am savoring every word. It is not only an affirmation, but also a deep inspiration.
Thank you.
Rebecca Gabriel, Bloomsbury Books
Ashland, OR
I want to thank you for enriching my life with two books you wrote.
Luncheon of the Boating Party and
Life Studies. It opened up a whole era for me that I have always
felt connected to, but did not know much about. My interest in La
Belle Epoch was also fueled by my in-laws. My mother in law was a
well known chansonniere in Europe and her mother ( my husband's
grandmother) was a poor flower girl from Paris, rescued and married
by a Dutch artist in 1898. I knew her, but now she seems so much more
familiar to me. A print of "Luncheon of the Boating Party"
is now hanging over my kitchen table and I say good morning to Aline
and Gustave, Paul and of course Renoir himself. Thank you again for
giving me a taste and feel of a time, long ago.
Sincerely,
Nora Royaards
Inman, South Carolina
4/3/09
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
Thank you! I just finished listening to your Luncheon of the Boating Party as an audio book. I learned so much: how artists think and create, their actual craft (how the paints were created), history of a time period, the customs and classes during that time in France. And that wasn't even the beautiful story you wove. I have discovered as I listen to different novels that writing skill becomes very apparent. Am I hearing short, choppy sentences that interfere with my focus on the story, or is this a novel so well written that I can't wait to rejoin that author's world? Yours was definitely the latter. I am having a hard time letting go of Renoir and the gang.
Thank you again.
Peggy Gregory, M.Ed.,Language Arts Specialist
Surprise, AZ
7/10/2008
Susan:
I am writing to tell you how much I, and, vicariously, my family, have all enjoyed Luncheon of the Boating Party. I cried upon finishing it. I was so moved...well, by the entire book, but especially by the final chapter wherein you, in Alphonsine's voice, wrap up the story and Renoir's life for us. It was so delicate and emotional to read about Aline and Renoir and how their life progressed, as well as realizing the twists and turns Alphonsine's life took.
As new people were introduced and the stories of the boat races, the worries over having 13 at the table and trying to find the 14th, the loss of Circe, came about, not to mention the wonderful descriptions of Renoir's choices with the painting, I shared them with my husband and daughter at the dinner table. A print of the painting is on the wall in that room, so we could look up and see what you were talking about in the book.
Thank you so much for creating such a story! I want to read more of your books! They help us understand artists and bring to life, in a way nothing else can, who these artists were and what they were trying to do. Not since I read Woman of Substance have I cried upon finishing a book. That shows you the effect yours had on me.
Peggy George
6/18/08
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
I so very much adore your 'Luncheon of the Boating Party.' It is the most beautiful book I have ever read. The language is most inspiring and deliciously descriptive. I am a photographer and poet and this has created a new way of thinking and looking at life for me. Thank you for the wonderful inspiration. I enjoy all of your books.
Thank you for your beautiful words.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Bratton
5/28/08
Dear Susan:
Thank you so much for such a wonderful book. I enjoyed it right from the start. The deeper into the story I got, the more fascinating it became and the more emotional. You gave such richness to the voice of Renoir and his models, particularly Alphonsine. He's always been one of my favorite artists and I feel I know so much more about him. Learning more about Caillebotte was an added bonus. And the flavor of 1880's Paris is so vivid and strong it made me wish I lived there then. I appreciate the bibliography, too. I've enjoyed all your other novels, but you've outdone yourself with "Luncheon". I look forward to your newest work about Tiffany.
With warmest regards,
Marcia Friedman, graphic designer
4/19/08
Brava, Susan,
It's been a couple years since I wrote you about how impressed I was of your deep understanding of the painter's mind in "The Forest Lover." As an artist myself, I truly appreciate a writer that gets it so right. And now, your "Luncheon," what a beautiful book--so crystal clear in its passion, so well-understood in its descriptions. I'm grateful to the powers that be that you're some place out there writing more books. "I've been seduced by color..." I've written those same words in my sketchbooks several times over the past decade--sometimes with joy and sometimes with frustration or even sadness. And "A painter should be dead if he can't paint." My 90 year old godparents--both lifelong artists, as were my parents--were interviewed for a news segment. They were asked if they would ever quit painting and in unison, this amazing and beautiful couple, married for 65 years, said "Never. The camera then zoomed in on Harry and he said, "I'll never stop. And if there's painting in heaven, I'll be doing it there too." Bless you, Susan, for knowing, understanding and expressing this wonderful creative spirit.
Gratefully and respectfully,
Robin Berry
Minneapolis, MN
1/7/08
Happy New Year Susan!
Jean Hohman and I, Joanne Winetzki, just finished reading aloud the "Luncheon of the Boating Party." It was delightful and so beautifully written! Chapter 40, "Incandescence," deeply moved us. As the New Age Views book reviewer for C*NAQ, Christian New Age Quarterly, many books varying between sublime and ridiculous cross my desk. You said more in that last chapter than dozens of writers have attempted to say in how many thousands of words!
We look forward to many more pleasant hours reading Vreeland aloud.
Joanne Winetzki and Jean Hohman,
Redwood City, CA
12/3/07
Susan,
I read "Luncheon of the Boating Party" last week and I just loved it! I was transported and transfixed by your writing once again. The settings were so alive and vibrant. France felt, sounded, even smelled like my memories. All the characters were so real and nuanced, especially Renoir himself--quite amazing.
I brought the book to my mom (a voracious reader) to read, and she just sent me an email that she was forwarding to all her friends and her book club (and our family) saying that they have to read this book! Just thought you'd like to know that your fan club is growing.
All the best,
Jennifer Redmond, Editor-in-Chief
Sunbelt Publications, Inc.
San Diego, California
9/27/07
Susan,
Just finished Luncheon, having taken my time on the last pages, so as to make the book last a bit longer, as well as the dream and mood. As an artist, with an artist's mind and dreams, I'm transported every time I read your words. I appreciate the glimpse of myself you provide. Also, the reminder that we belong to a long history of artists who share the full range of emotions life has to offer. Once again, you have painted beautifully. I await your next piece.
Dick Graves
9/10/07
Dear Susan,
Thank you for writing Luncheon of the Boating Party. I've just re-read it and enjoyed it again on so many levels! Of course we all loved meeting you at the Amelia Island Book Festival, and talking to you by conference call after we read Girl in Hyacinth Blue as our One Book, One Community Read. But I just have to say that Luncheon touched me in more personal ways. I understand the times and the struggle of the Impressionists better, I appreciate the painting itself more, and I admire the Impressionist artists and their supporters so much more than when they were simply names on a list.
I wish I could put my finger on what's different about living Renoir's life for the hours I spent reading your book. I remember appreciating the care your took to help me love and understand the artists in The Passion of Artemisia and The Forest Lover, but this newest novel took me, personally, farther inside the artist's head. How did you do it? I didn't want the book to end.
Thank you, thank you. And what's next?
Warmest regards,
Joani Selement
Amelia Island, Florida
6/27/07
Susan,
I have to tell you I thoroughly enjoyed "Luncheon of the Boating Party." It completely immersed me. I felt like I was part of la vie moderne the entire time I was reading it. And I feel I have learned so much about Renoir and Impressionism, as well as Paris. Your gift for characterization is marvelous, as is your gift for putting a person in a place and time. Thank you for an immensely enjoyable interlude with Renoir.
I'm reviewing the book in the July 1 paper.
Deirdre Parker Smith, Books editor
Salisbury Post
CLARA AND MR. TIFFANY
7/10/12
Dear Ms. Vreeland,
Clara and Mr. Tiffany was a beautifully crafted book. Not only the character development but weaving the elements of history that must have influenced Clara. I was amazed that each character was a real person! You brought them alive and grounded them with the vernacular they would have spoken.
I wrote you (several books ago) asking you about your writing process and you mentioned your copious notebooks and research. I felt your process come alive in this book.
Thank you for all of your hard work and creativity. Your books would be excellent reads for high school girls seeking their way in today's society.
Regards,
Judith Bishop
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4/19/12
Dear Susan,
I just listened to the audiobook of "Clara and Mr. Tiffany" and it touched me deeply.
It is one of those rare stories that one never wants to have come to an end.
As a fiber artist (I'm inspired by the book to actually call myself an artist)
I found a kindred spirit in Clara. You must be an artist, also, to be able to give voice to
the incredible "lightness of being" that creating does to ones soul. I, like Clara, have been
so uplifted by the colors and beauty of nature. To see/hear it expressed in words is amazing.
I've never been able to express how creating effects me. Color has a taste to me a real
physical sensation when I see it. Not a flavor, but an essence. And you have captured the
feeling of it so beautifully.
I love the Art Nouveau period and the exciting things unfolding at the turn of the 19th
century to the 20th. The artistry was so dynamic; so full of color and beauty.
There was such a sense of wonder and possibilities. You've captured this period in New York,
so wonderfully. The descriptions of the new building and new technology, the new subway,
the bicycle, the cars, the Statue of Liberty, the bridges, the changes in dress and manners,
the emerging self-hood of women. How gifted you are to make me feel as if I am there
experiencing it with Clara and her friends.
I am also deeply appreciative of your giving voice to Clara's warm and loving friendships
with other artists of her time and her evolving interactions with her housemates and co-workers.
What a dear George Waldo must have been! I've tried to find more information about him on the
Internet, but have not found any more information about him or his art. What a shame.
But you did bring him alive, again.
I have already reserved several other of your books from my library.
I intend to immerse myself in good feeling and beautifully written stories.
What a nice change from so much that is written these days.
Thank you so much for the courage you have to jump in there and create
and bring alive these wonderful people.
Warmest Regards,
Laura
4/5/09
Dear Suzi,
I am finding so much that thrills me, and writing that is so strong.
Jane
5/1/09
Dear Suzi,
It has been such a joy to immerse myself in Clara Driscoll's world. I feel as though I have learned so much about Tiffany glass, New York City at the turn of the century, the labor movement, how to make glass, and the beginnings of the women's movement. That doesn't begin to mention how I have enjoyed my time with Clara and Alice and George and Louis and Bernard. And that is just for starters! So let me say BRAVA!
Yours, as ever,
Jane
Back cover introduction on the Advanced Reading Edition
The New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland, makes her Random House debut with her beautifully rendered sixth novel, creating a dynamic portrait of Clara Driscoll: a leading designer for Louis Comfort Tiffany who was conflicted between her desire for artistic recognition and romantic love. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Louis Comfort Tiffany seeks to honor his father and the family business with his innovative glass designs. But it is the freethinking Clara Driscoll, head of his women's division, who develops the iconic Tiffany lamp, with its leaded glass shades and nature-based motifs, which earns Tiffany the critical acclaim and financial success he'd long dreamt of. Yearning equally for love and for recognition as a creator of unique art pieces in an atmosphere increasingly commercial, balancing the Gilded Age world of formal balls and opera with the immigrant poverty of the Lower East Side where some of her beloved girls live, and loving in different ways the five men in her life, Clara, like many women, must decide what makes her most happy--the professional world of her hands or the personal world of her heart.
Written by Jane von Mehren, Senior Vice-President, Random House Publishing Group
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