The Lady with the Dark Hair: A Novel

by Erin Bartels

Publisher:

Revell

, 2024

Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once-solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella's greatest work--a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair.

In 1879, Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells artists' pigments. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella's sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playing in order to hide her identity have far-reaching implications she never could have foreseen.

This dual-timeline story from award-winning author Erin Bartels takes readers from the sleepy Midwest to the sultry Mediterranean on a relentless search for truth, identity, and the freedom to follow one's dreams.

From the Back Cover

A charismatic man with a legacy that long outlives him

A forgotten woman whose fate is forever tied to his

And the family whose history is still being written

***

Toulouse, France--1879

Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells artists' pigments. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella's sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playing in order to hide her identity have far-reaching implications she never could have foreseen.

East Lansing, Michigan--Present Day

Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once-solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella's greatest work--a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair.


This dual-timeline story from award-winning author Erin Bartels takes you on a captivating journey across time and continents, where past and present converge in a relentless search for truth, identity, and the freedom to follow one's dreams.

Product Details

• Title: The Lady with the Dark Hair: A Novel
• Author: Erin Bartels
• Publisher: Revell
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2023
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781493444717, 9780800741662, 0800741668, 1493444719
• Resource ID: LLS:9781493444717
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-02-09T09:27:54Z

About Erin Bartels

Erin Bartels is the author of We Hope for Better Things and has been a publishing professional for 17 years. A freelance writer and editor, she is a member of Capital City Writers and the Women's Fiction Writers Association and is former features editor of WFWA's Write On! magazine. Her short story "This Elegant Ruin" was a finalist in The Saturday Evening Post 2014 Great American Fiction Contest. She grew up in the Bay City, Michigan, area and has spent much of her life waiting on drawbridges. She lives in Lansing, Michigan, with her husband, Zachary, and their son. Find her online at www.erinbartels.com.