Journey into the Winter An Engrossing Read!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for a copy of The Paris Winter in exchange for an honest review.  The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson chronicles the adventures of Maud and her friends at an Art Academy in Paris.  

Synopsis: 

Maude and her friend Tanya are students at Lafonds an art school.  The artist Lafond offers classes for both men and women, but these women must pay a higher price for the same education.  Their semester begins with a suicide of one of their classmates.  Maud has come over from England to study art but financial difficulties have made studies difficult.  Tanya wants to help and notices that Maud has a great need.  She takes her to Mrs. Harris a woman who helps women such as Maud find work.  The job is working for Sylvie and Christian Morel a brother and sister who need her to teach English and Drawing.  All seems to be going well until Maud is suddenly declared dead.  What happened to her?  What will become of her friends?

My Thoughts: 

I did end up enjoying this novel.  It just did not have the greatest start with a suicide to begin the novel.  I did become a fan of Maud and wanted to see her succeed. I almost put this novel down at one point because I was so upset with Maud’s circumstances.  I did find the end to be satisfying. 

The backdrop of this story is the city of Paris and the Art.  A painting is described at the beginning of each chapter chronicling the winter of 1910.   Lafonds is a fictional art academy that has trained male painters, but also offers classes to women.  The writing describes these landscapes beautifully!   Also the flood of 1910 that helps to bring about the climax of the story, and the resolution. 

Rating: 

4/5

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