Artistic License [Hardcover]

Katie Fforde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 19, 2002

Single, thritysomething Thea traded her promising career as a photographer for the quiet countryside of the English Cotswalds. But when she meets a promising, sexy Irish painter while vacationing in Provence, her creative spirit is unexpectedly reawakened.

Impressed by Rory's charm, but even more taken by his talent, Thea is determined to showcase his paintings for the art world. Resisting his sex appeal, convincing him to forgo the London art scene, and transforming an abandoned building into a cutting-edge gallery in the less-than-hip countryside all give Thea more of a challenge than she bargained for.

Add to the mix a group of old friends, some reluctant teens, a passel of puppies, and a new romantic prospect or two, and Katie Fforde's latest novel delivers art, friendship, love, sex, and delicious new beginnings.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This second offering from the author of Second Thyme Around (2001) is a breezy romance that combines a little business, a little travel, and a little art into a diverting and unchallenging summer read. Spunky heroine Thea runs a boardinghouse for students in Gloucestershire. During a spur-of-the-moment trip to France to accompany a friend, she meets an Irish artist, falls in love with his work, though not with him, and rearranges her life to open a gallery to show his paintings. Large groups of people seem always to be arriving unexpectedly, needing to be fed and housed. Puppies are born, confusion and misunderstanding reign, and unrequited love looms, but all is sorted out to a successful conclusion in the end. Readers seeking effortless entertainment won't mind the lack of motivation and deep thought, but they may be put off by British colloquialisms, including one that could be viewed as so "politically incorrect" as to be offensive. Danise Hoover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Joanna Trollope crossed with Tom Sharpe.” –Mail on Sunday


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (July 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312275714
• ISBN-13: 978-0312275716
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,621,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad!, October 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Artistic License (Hardcover)

I really think Booklist's review is much more accurate than the one-star ratings given by the first two Amazon reviewers. All of Fforde's books are light and breezy. If that's what you're in the mood for, this book is just fine. Maybe one has to be of "a certain age" to appreciate it. The main character can no longer be labeled a young person, yet has never gotten around to having kids of her own. (None that I can remember!) I really enjoyed reading about her interactions with the young folk in her boarding house. However, she isn't old either, and doesn't quite fit in with the seniors on the tour France. This makes for more amusing interactions. I will still be on the lookout for Fforde's new books in future.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars same old fforde formula, July 16, 2002

By 

R. Love "Ruby Tulip" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artistic License (Hardcover)

Starting with "Second Thyme Around," I tore through Katie Fforde's previous books in a matter of weeks. And once you've read one or two of her books, you can guess the happy outcome of them all--while struggling to either build a business or garden or home, our quirky heroine meets and falls in love with one of two prospective men. This time, with "Artistic License," the premise falls flat. The main character (two days after finishing the book, I can't remember her name) decides to open a gallery from scratch to show an unknown, but sexy artist's works, all the while caring for the litter of pups he has dumped on her. She in turn dumps a ton of responsibilities on her wealthy friends and tenants, both of whom she seems to have little affinity for. And of course, through all of this she falls in love with some other guy. Unfortunately, Katie Fforde devotes only the last couple pages of the book to this budding romance.
While I finished "Artistic License" in two days, this is the first Fforde book I wish she hadn't written and that I hadn't read..

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant but not outstanding, January 31, 2003

By 

"tripichik" (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artistic License (Hardcover)

Basically I agree with all of the other reviews here -- this is a charming, pleasant read, but not Fforde's best (which would have to be Second Thyme Around). What I would like to know is, did anyone catch the line about which Booklist said, "[people may be put off by ]British colloquialisms, including one that could be viewed as so "politically incorrect" as to be offensive." It slipped by me!