The Lost Masterpiece: A Novel

Tamara Rubin does not welcome whimsy. So when a stranger calls her out of the blue and announces she is the rightful owner of an Impressionist masterpiece by Edouard Manet called “Party on the Seine,” she doesn’t immediately believe him. But once her due diligence is complete and the painting is hanging on the wall of her apartment, her life shifts. She can’t stop looking at it. She is devastated and angry when another stranger contacts her to say the painting isn’t hers at all. Determined to prove she is the rightful owner, Tamara dives deep into her family history.

The novel’s dual timeline introduces readers to Berthe Morisot, a gifted painter out of step with the expectations for women in her time. Despite these restrictions, she is a welcome member of a group of renegade artists who call themselves the Impressionists—a group that includes the compelling Edouard Manet. As Berthe and Tamara speak to each other across their far-flung timelines, secrets that have been waiting quietly for centuries finally emerge. Berthe’s story is the highlight here, and a glimpse of life among the Impressionists outweighs the somewhat slow-moving plot in Tamara’s present day.