After Vermeer and Artemesia, Vreeland paints the life of obscure but trailblazing artist Emily Carr (1871-1945). nonfiction (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Fictionalized biography of painter Emily Carr by bestselling Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue, 1999; The Passion of Artemisia, 2002). Carr (1871-1945) was perhaps the first Canadian woman artist to achieve international recognition, partly thanks to her studies abroad (in America, London, and Paris) and partly thanks to her association with the famed Group of Seven, a Toronto-based salon of painters who revolutionized Canadian art. In her third historical, Vreeland adds some invented characters and situations, but for the most part offers a faithful account of Carr's career. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, she lost both of her parents early in life and was raised by her domineering elder sister Dede, who disapproved of Emily's interest in painting and tried to prevent her from enrolling in art school. Because of an interest in Native American art that was unusual for her times, Carr lived for a while among the Squamish Indians of Vancouver Island, studying their crafts and rituals. There, she met Sophie Frank, a Squamish basket weaver who became both a friend and inspiration, as well as Claude Serreau, a French-Canadian fur trapper who was briefly Carr's lover. The Indian themes that dominated her early work were not well received in Canada, so in 1910 Carr traveled to Paris to immerse herself in the new styles that were coming into vogue among modernists. In France, she befriended New Zealand painter Frances Hodgkins, with whom she spent a happy summer working in the countryside, but she found as little encouragement in Paris as she had in Vancouver. After a year, she returned to Canada and dedicated herself to painting the Native American villages, houses, and totem poles that were fast disappearing. Eventually, she mounted an exhibition at the National Gallery in Ottawa that established her as one of the leading artists of her day. A sensitive, sober account of an interesting woman and her times, narrated with respect for the factual record and a minimum of heavy breathing. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The Canadian artist Emily Carr (1871- 1945) could be a feminist icon. Spirited and courageous, inspired by an inner vision of "distortion for expression" and by a mission to capture on canvas the starkly fierce totem poles carved by the Indian tribes of British Columbia, Carr endured the disapproval of her family and of society at large until her belated vindication. One of the pleasures of this beguiling novel based on Carr's life is the way Vreeland (Girl in Hyacinth Blue) herself has acquired a painter's eye; her descriptions of Carr's works are faithful evocations of the artist's dazzling colors and craft. No art schools taught the techniques that Carr felt suitable to the immense, rugged landscape of British Columbia. Moreover, when she ventured into isolated tribal villages and befriended the natives, braving physical discomfort and sometimes real danger, she was accused of "unwholesome socializing with primitives." Drawing on Carr's many journals, Vreeland imagines her experiences in remote areas of B.C. as well as in Victoria, Vancouver and (briefly) France. There are few dramatic climaxes; instead, Vreeland emphasizes Carr's relationships with her rigidly conventional siblings and with her mentors and colleagues. She vividly describes the obstacles Carr faced when she ventured into the wilderness and in her periods of near poverty and self-doubt. A fictitious French fur trader introduces a romantic element, which may offend purists. Much of the suspense comes through Carr's affectionate relationship with a real woman, Sophie Frank, a Squamish basket maker who loses nine children to white men's diseases. Adding to Sophie's emotional desolation is the torment introduced by inflexible Christian dogma that alienates tribes from their native traditions and spiritual beliefs. Vreeland provides this historical background with the same authoritative detail that she brings to the Victorian culture that challenged Carr's pioneering efforts. Her robust narrative should do much to establish Carr's significance in the world of modern art. Agent, Barbara Braun. 17-city author tour. (Feb. 9) Forecast: Vreeland's sizable audience should guarantee this book an early place on the charts. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In her last novel, best-selling author Vreeland fictionalized the life of Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi. She now presents a speculative portrait of the intrepid and too little known British Columbian painter Emily Carr (1871-1945), older sister-in-spirit to O'Keeffe andahlo. Awareness of Carr's extraordinary life and unprecedented paintings of Canada's magnificent western wilderness and the carvings and totem poles of the region's native peoples is increasing thanks to renewed appreciation for Canada's Group of Seven, a circle of male painters also committed to celebrating their country's pristine natural beauty. But Carr, working in painful isolation, was way ahead of them, and her passionate quest induced her to break every rule of conduct for a Victorian-era white Christian woman. Vreeland couldn't have chosen a more vital, compelling, and significant subject, although she does romanticize Carr's incredible life nearly to the point of superficiality. Even so, her dramatic depictions of Carr's daunting solo journeys, arduous artistic struggle, persistent loneliness, and despair over the tragic fate of the endangered people she came to love truly are provocative and moving. And Vreeland is to be commended for introducing Carr to the wider audience she so deserves. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2003 Booklist

Adult/High School-This novel portrays 20 years in the life of British Columbia painter Emily Carr, who was determined to preserve the Indian heritage, especially the totem poles, of the Pacific Northwest in her art. Living in the late 1800s, when women were supposed to be subservient homemakers and not adventuresome and out on their own in the forests, Carr knew what she wanted and then went after it, even when this meant doing without food. Although she is about 30 when the story opens, teens will relate to her rebellious streak, her firm adherence to her beliefs, and her unusual friends. Those interested in art history will appreciate the discussions of technique and reading about her year in Paris as she learned from prominent artists. The novel is decidedly heavier reading than the author's Girl in Hyacinth Blue (MacMurray & Beck, 1999), and sometimes the Indians' dialogue is in pidgin English. Four black-and-white reproductions and the color dust jacket represent a few of Carr's works.-Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.