The Pen and the Brush
by Anka Muhlstein, Other Press, 14.99
‘I have not only supported the Impressionists,” the young Emile Zola boasted, “I have translated them into literature.” Zola had just burst on to the literary scene with his first novel, Thérèse Raquin, a masterpiece of dark realism. But it was in the milieu of artists that he felt most comfortable. And he wasn’t the only one.
Subtitled “How Passion for Art Shaped 19th-century French Novels”, Anka Muhlstein’s book charts the curious intersection of cultures that would ultimately result in both the modern novel and modern art.
