The Portrait

U.S.A.: Knopf Canada, 2005. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. New/New. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. After the dazzling achievement of his bestsellers An Instance of the Fingerpost ("May well be the best historical mystery ever written." -The Boston Globe) and The Dream of Scipio ("A virtuoso display of craftsmanship." -Maclean's), Iain Pears returns with a stunning novel of suspense and revenge.An influential art critic in the early years of the twentieth century journeys from London to the remote island of Houat, off France's northwest coast, to sit for a portrait painted by an old friend, a gifted, once acclaimed artist living in self-imposed exile. Over the course of the sitting, the painter recalls their years of friendship, the double-edged gift of the critic's patronage, the power he wielded over aspiring artists, and his apparent callousness in anointing the careers of some and devastating the lives of others. The balance of power between the two men shifts dramatically - and ominously - as the critic becomes a passive subject; and as the painter slowly captures the character of the man on canvas, we discover why he left London suddenly and mysteriously at the height of his success and why now, with dark determination, he has taken on this unusual commission