With Violets (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: dressing screen, Madame Manet, Monsieur Manet, Fanny Claus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her debut novel, Robards takes up the story of impressionist painter Berthe Morisot, who was a friend and lover of fellow artist Edouard Manet, and imagines a love affair between them against the backdrop of a disapproving time. After they first meet in the Louvre, Manet invites Morisot to his studio, where he paints the first of what would be countless portraits. Morisot basks in the great man's attention, but she must learn to tread carefully around Manet's wife. Together, the painters test the limits of propriety, engaging in a risky affair that is compromised bit by bit over time, leading to unexpected ends. Robards constructs a convincing plot for these real-life characters, her sense of emotion is keen and the setting serviceably rendered, but readers looking for insight into the art should look elsewhere. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Set among the beauty and majesty of Paris at the height of its articits period, Robards' novel weaves the story of passion and lust among the historical events. A masterpiece in itself, With Violets is a delightful novel." (Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas) )

"With deft brush strokes, Elizabeth Robards creates a wonderfully vivid portrait of the Second Empire and the dawn of Impressionism." (Tracy Grant, author of Beneath a Silent Moon )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avon A (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061579122
• ISBN-13: 978-0061579127
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #246,960 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story paints an image of great love, January 27, 2005

By	Evelyn A. Sechler (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: With Violets (Hardcover)

Once I started reading WITH VIOLETS I could not put it down. Elizabeth Robards fascinates with a look into "what may have been" a great love story between master artist Edouard Manet and Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot.

While Morisot was a woman ahead of her time, with artistic passion, and the spirit to join Monet, Renoir, Cezanne and others as part of the Impressionist movement, history hints that she & Manet may have been more than fellow artists. Manet painted no other subject as often as Morisot, who served as a model for fourteen Manet portraits.

WITH VIOLETS begins with an engaging encounter between the two at the Louvre, and quickly draws you into the complexities of their love affair in 19th century Paris. The story embraces so many family members and friends that you not only feel the passion between Edouard and Berthe, but also the emotions of those witness to the attempt to veil the deep love that they cannot deny each other.

Vibrant language paints a story of passionate love between a married man, and a woman who seems willing to chance everything to be with him. Was Edouard's wife truly the former mistress of his father, and his loveless marriage only for reasons of family honor? Can Berthe risk her place among fellow artists, and bring shame upon the family who has encouraged her to buck convention and be the artist that she was born to be? Add in the intricacies of family, war and the Impressionist movement, and every page is riveting.

So much history is weaved into the love story that I found myself wanting to know more about the artists, and now look at their paintings with questions about what the eyes of the model and the strokes of the artist are telling me. While WITH VIOLETS is beautifully written historical fiction, the romantic in me wants to believe that Elizabeth Robards may be sharing a love story that truly was.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing work of fiction, November 20, 2004

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: With Violets (Hardcover)

In 1868 in the Louvre, Berthe Morisot practices painting by copying the masters. Usually she is accompanied by her sister and her mother, but today she is alone except for her friend Rosalie Riesener. Another friend, Monsieur Fantin joins the two young women and introduces them to renowned artist Edouard Manet. He flirts with Berthe and even changes her drawing slightly though she lectures him for doing so.

Berthe is attracted to Edouard, but is horrified to learn her new admirer is married to pianist Suzanne. The budding female artist also meets Edouard's brother Eugene; soon the siblings compete for the affection of Berthe. Will she choose the single brother, the famous married brother, or neither brother?

WITH VIOLETS is an intriguing work of fiction that provides insight into an interesting late nineteenth century artist (Berthe that is) and her relationships with the Manet brothers. Berthe is the focus of the story line as she seems attracted to Edouard but ultimately marry Eugene. Did she love Edouard or was that hero worship? Genre fans will gain a taste for Left Bank Paris during the impressionist period as Elizabeth Robards paints a delightful portrait of an impressionist artist ahead of her times.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressions, March 21, 2009

By	S. Deeth "Sheila Deeth" (OR, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The cover of the paperback version of "With Violets" is bright and inviting with a white-dressed figure reclining off the edge of the page, holding violets in her hand. Something in the sharp-edged flowers or speckled grays on the dress is reminiscent of the era Robards is writing about, the time of the French impressionists, putting me in the right mood to read.

The book transports you to a very real depiction of Paris in the 1860s, introducing the reader to wonderful characters with complicated lives and loves, and inviting you to ponder fascinating mysteries of human relationships, history and art.

As evidence of how much I enjoyed the book, I found myself looking up the main character, Berthe Morisot, on the internet as soon as I finished reading. I found a painting by her of a woman in a white dress that matched the book's cover, and another painting, by Manet, of Morisot holding a bunch of violets. As I read the articles I felt like I was reading about real people who I'd already come to know through Robard's novel.

With Violets is written in the first person, giving it an immediacy that draws the reader quickly into the era. And Robards' language, right from the start, splashes the colors of impressionism onto the page. As Morisot becomes aware of Manet in the room behind her (on page 2), she describes "patterns of speech reverberating like a symphony of color... One timbre dark and rich as umber shadows. The other, vibrant as vermillion." It sounds completely natural in the context of a young woman with paintbrush in hand, and gives an immediate insight into the way the artist thinks and experiences the world.

Sometimes the switches in tense in the book startled me, but they soon became part of the flow -- a story told in vivid colors, unmixed, placed side by side like the paintings she describes. And just occasionally there were words or turns of phrase that seemed to miss the mark (but perhaps I'm too English). Touches of French, and French phrasing, are unobtrusively placed, and well-paced, giving background and flavor. And the world of Morisot and Manet is fleshed out beautifully with references to world events. I was fascinated to realize how little I had considered where the impressionists fitted into the timelines of revolution, war and politics.

At the end of the book, Avon gives a two-page "author insight," where Robards describes the awe and respect she holds for Morisot and Manet, which led her to sketch a love story of what might have been. I'd have to say, she's done a wonderful job, and I'll look forward to reading more by her. Meanwhile, if you're looking for more than your average romance, where relationships and the historical world are painted with breadth and depth, then I would certainly recommend you try "With Violets" by Elizabeth Robards.