Customer Reviews

Mademoiselle Victorine: A Novel

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Victorine Laurent falls into a particular class of Parisian women, at least at the beginning of her association with Impressionist Edouard Manet in 1862, who make their living from the generosity of gentlemen protectors. Of a superior class than streetwalker, but not as elevated as a courtesan, Victorine is a lorette, her training ground the corps de ballet, where women are chosen for their beauty and suitability as paramours, rather than dancing skills. Penuriously raised by cruel and indifferent aunts, Victorine learns early that beauty is her only weapon; she has a limited time to take advantage of her physical gifts. Drawn to the inherent elegance of well-appointed gentlemen, ever on the lookout for a suitable protector, Victorine first meets the artist Degas, then Manet, for whom she agrees to pose.

As Manet's nude model for "Olympia", Victorine will make her fortune, the doors of society thrown open for her, but at the beginning of her quest for security, she is guided by pragmatism, self-interest and the obvious rewards offered by gentlemen of means. Manet and his disciples are the new face of Parisian art, upsetting the status quo with their vision; as the artist's protégé, Victorine attains cache, and with it, unexpected opportunity. At first, genteel society is shocked by Manet's depictions of his muse, but soon Victorine is the object of much speculation, including offers for patronage. Keeping her distance from Manet, Victorine refuses to be his lover, although she has no such qualms with those who would woo her, accepting finally a grand home from Baron Rothschild. Eventually, Victorine meets the one man who will refuse to tolerate her relationship as Manet's model; Philippe de Lyon, close advisor to Emperor Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I and vice-president of the legislative body, Philippe demands exclusivity, nurturing grand schemes with Victorine as his unwitting pawn.

Her notoriety grows, as does Philippe's influence, Victorine introduced to court and seduced by men of great repute, basking in "ambition and rivalry, the blood sport of imperial Paris". Yet Victorine fails to find comfort in financial security or the glamour of her position, the court rife with intrigue and the whispers of war with Prussia. Drawn to Manet as butterfly to flame, Victorine cannot deny the attraction they have so skillfully avoided, each pursuing their goals as the country turns against the monarchy once again. By 1870, Paris is caught in the onslaught of Prussian might and superior arms. France, defeated, sues for peace. Betrayed and unjustly imprisoned, Victorine learns the harsh lessons of power and greed, surviving only by her wits and Manet's assistance.

Creating her heroine from a combination of historical characters during the era, Finerman recreates a believable Paris, displaying the beauty that so captured the imagination of Parisians, the elegant salons, the extravagance and decadence of the court of Louis Napoleon and his empress, Eugenie, wealthy men who parade their mistresses in society, the rising ire of the working class toward a ruling class that ignores their struggles and the enlightened artists and writers inspired to make their mark on the world stage. The real actors all but lost to history, Manet's gorgeous nude, "Olympia", survives, a gift to future generations. Luan Gaines/2007.

Mademoiselle Victorine is a delight to read; one of those books that is over too soon. Ms.Finerman has crafted a novel which entertains, educates and leaves the reader wanting to know more about that most fascinating period in history. Romance and intrigue weave through historical events in France, with artists and writers taking center stage in this story of a young woman's determined struggle to survive and succeed, despite the hand she has been dealt. The details of daily life, dress and etiquette have been meticulously researched and lend authenticity to this story, whose main character was inspired by Manet's model Victorine Meurent, and the Countess of Castiglione. A must read for anyone who loves Paris, is interested in French history and art or just wants a great read.

Victorine's beginnings of life was that of rejection, unwanted and unloved, deserted by her mother and father, or was she? As she becomes a woman she finds herself in Paris in the chorus of the grand Paris Opera. The life for these women was that of a mistress of wealthy, married men; but fate had something more in plan for Victorine. Meeting a painter by the name of Edouard Manet, Victorine begins to see life in a different light. Through her relationship with him she meets true friends and begins to open her heart which has been closed for a very long time. Perhaps there are some who can be trusted?
As she poses for this man, the painting becomes the talk of Paris and she becomes an almost overnight courtesan but that success almost destroys her. Victorine learns secrets from her past that will both bring a closure to some areas and unrest in others. As her life travels along, she herself becomes a mother and it is truly then as Paris is thrust into war that she realizes the war that raged in her heart for so many years must come to an end as she finds out what true love is and where her happiness lies. A very good story with some deep rooted hidden emotions that are gems to be found.

When I first heard that there was going to be a novel based on the life of Victorine Meurent, the model who posed for Manet's Olympie, a painting that shocked the decadent Parisian society, I was looking forward to reading it. Over the last several years, I had the opportunity to expand my study of the Impressionist movement, and so anything to add more to my experience was a plus.

Or so I thought.

Debra Finerman's Victorine arrives in Paris as a young child of twelve, raised by two strict aunts who bully her shamelessly, and have decided to finally get rid of her -- by selling her into a brothel. Victorine, having been raised on the rough side of life, is still horrified by life on the street when she sees a former grand courtesan rooting in the garbage for food, the great beauty a ruin now. So begins our heroine's search for security no matter what it takes for her to get it. And security means money.

When the novel opens, Victorine is the mistress of a well-to-do banker, but it's certainly not enough. When she meets Edouard Manet, they are attracted by each other, but Victorine is canny enough not to let him have her sexually, instead she poses for him, resulting in the infamous painting that has her a nude, gazing with defiance at the viewer. Through Victorine's eyes we meet other artists and writers, and she begins to collect other wealthier men into her circle, including a Rotheschild banker, and finally, the Duke de Lyon, a fabulously rich politician who becomes her means to enter the very cream of Parisian society.

Still at the center of it all is her relationship with Manet, a romance where they never touch, but the emotion is all there. We're treated to the dizzying days of Napoleon III and his Empress Eugenie, war with the Germans, and finally the days of the Communards.

Victorine, for all of her potential as a character, is bloodlessly calculating here. Money really is the only thing she cares about, and how she gets it is callous, and doesn't create much sympathy for the reader. Throughout all of her dispair and mistakes, and wondering why she can't feel anything for her various lovers, I was left feeling nothing but contempt for her in return. She covets exquisite clothing, fine jewelry, elaborate houses, and behaves in pretty much a childish fashion throughout.

To make matters worse, the author Debra Finerman, has taken this story of an artistic revolution and turned it into a disgusting hack job. Most of the book is filled up with idle conversation, descriptions of clothing, episodic encounters between Victorine and others, and only in the last seventy or so pages does the book even get interesting. Most heinous of all, she displays an absolute lack of knowledge of the art world of the time -- Victorine is a combination of the real Victorine Meurent, and the Countess de Castiglione, Julia Stanhope-Morgan is based very loosely on Mary Cassatt, and the Duke de Lyon is based on the real Duke de Mornay. Paintings aren't given their titles, just very loose descriptions. Finally, Finerman doesn't mention other people who were very influental in Manet's life, including his brother Edmund, and fellow artist and model, Berthe Morisot. Instead, she seems to have spent an afternoon walking through the Metropolitan Museum of Art looking at the Impressionists gallery and stopped in at a travelling exhibition on the Countess de Castiglione and photography, and then tried to make a novel out of that.

There's the loosest of plots, no real depth or imagination here, nothing to catch the attention of artists interested in the world of creation, plenty of historical mistakes, and some of the dullest narrative around. It's just plain bad, and even with it just being under 300 pages, it's literary joke.

For a far more impressive and interesting read on the Impressionist movement, I would suggest Susan Vreeland's <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_372615384708">Luncheon of the Boating Party<a>, where at least the author knows her topic and how to write characters that interest the reader.

The author tries to explain her methods and reasoning in a short author's note at the end, and a reader's guide for reader's groups is included, but why bother?

Two stars.

Not Recommended.

I was browsing Amazon to see what book to get a friend for a gift and I liked the subject of this one. I ordered it and began to thumb through before I wrapped it to give her. Well, I actually have to admit, I read it all the way through and left some coffee stains on the pages and have to order another one for her. But then, before ordering, I read one of the reviews and I wanted to tell people that there are no historical inaccuracies, and I'm a history major at George Mason University in Virginia specializing in French history. I read anything I can with France as a setting. I also really enjoyed the development of the heroine, Victorine, from a "bad girl" who has to scrape the bottom before finding herself and true love. I'm not an art expert, so I can't speak to the titles and dates of the paintings in the novel, but I think historical fiction is supposed to take the reader on a journey and excite the imagination, unlike a some of the dull history textbooks I have to study, listing dates and facts. This book made me feel like I was there in 19th century Paris. I could hear the carriage wheels on the cobblestones. I could smell the baguettes baking in the bakeries. I felt compassion for Victorine, who was born into such miserable circumstances and had no way out but to sell her charms. And that was a time that women had very little recourse if they weren't bourgeois or from the upper classes. I loved the dialogue and I actually enjoyed reading about the fashion of the times. This book is a winner. Full of imagination, plot twists and a great ending that made me sigh with pleasure.

This book was a charming romp through Paris of the 1860's. It took my mind off my problems and let me escape to another time and place.

In 1858, her two aunts who fed her dumped their fourteen year old niece Victorine Laurent; leaving her to fend for herself. She vowed to make it, not realizing how difficult that will prove for a penniless waif with no family as only one avenue exists in Paris for those who are nothing.

Four years later Victorine joins the chorus of the Paris Opera with her intention to become the mistress of a wealthy man for that is the sole escape from the street. Degas introduces Victorine to Edouard Manet, who paints her portrait to the shock of Parisians. Duke de Lyon, Emperor Louis-Napoleon's prime advisor, asks Victorine to be his exclusive mistress, but that means giving up totally on Manet even as her past surfaces in such a way that she might soon be back on the streets.

This is an interesting historical fiction talethat brings to life the conjoining of art, business, and government at a critical point in both fields as Napoleon III tries to widen his influence and the Impressionists are becoming the prime school. The use of real events and genuine characters help anchor the sense of being in Paris in the late 1860s. However, Victorine adapts too easily to any circumstance she comes across by changing her wardrobe; still readers will enjoy her dalliances to be all that she is allowed to be.

Harriet Klausner