Mrs Van Gogh: The breathtaking historical novel inspired by the true story of the woman who made Van Gogh famous

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When Jo, as she is known, visits her brother in Paris for the summer, she experiences something new. The Storytime in Paris podcast will help keep this tradition alive with short interviews and readings from your favorite contemporary authors with a French connection. This kind of melodramatic historical fanfiction that needlessly wishy-washies the day-to-day with saccharine fluff while ALSO taking itself so seriously that it doesn’t allow for any ACTUAL FUN is my kryptonite. This was the 1880s and whilst men could and did get away with most things, a woman's name could be blackened by such behaviour.

Johanna is a disgraced woman, after being caught having relations with another teacher at the exclusive schol where she taught (whilst he is largely unaffected and allowed to continue teaching! After everything she went through, Jo never gave up on the Van Gogh brothers, and never gave up on Vincent’s art. Vincent van Gogh as a subject in popular culture is well known, but recently Jo van Gogh-Bonger has also been a focus. Eleven years later his work is exhibited in Paris and finally he is recognised for the great talent he was and goes on to become one of the worlds most renown artists. A well-written story about a strong woman with a fascinating life The author paints a beautiful pictureIf you enjoy historical fiction and you like strong female characters, I highly recommend As intricate and absorbing as a Van Gogh paintingMRS VAN GOGH will stay with me for a long time.

The only grief I actually feel is for my uncertain future and the fear that my parents will sell me to the next highest bidder. If you approach it as such it is an enjoyable read and it will, as with me, stimulate you into finding out more about that particular period in art and Vincent Van Gogh in particular. For years her husband Theo had supported Vincent's work as an artist, financially and in all other ways.

After Vincent’s death and then Theo’s six months later she became the owner of most of Vincent’s artwork including paintings, sketches and his letters. Meeting characters such as Camille Claudel, a highly talented sculptor in her own right, yet always defined by her being Rodin's lover, accentuated what Jihanna was beginning to understand for herself. Johanna Gezina van Gogh-Bonger (4 October 1862 – 2 September 1925) was a multilingual Dutch editor and translator of the letters of the van Gogh brothers. She wrote book reviews for feminist publications and became a good friend of feminist journalist Henriëtte van der Meij. I loved the atmosphere the author created in the story and her descriptions of the Paris streets made me feel like I was right there following the characters around.With her husband's death six months after Vincent's, Van Gogh-Bonger was determined to carry on her husband's efforts to establish Vincent's importance as an artist, but she also worked to demonstrate her husband's crucial role in supporting Vincent's life as an artist. Throughout the story Jo goes through tumultuous emotions as she comes to grips with the family she has married into. I think she introduced the characters and set the scenes really well, and certainly grabbed my interest and attention right from the start. To consider that in such a short time she met and became engaged to Theo, witnessed Vincent’s mental collapse, married, had a child, witnessed Vincent’s death then, sadly, Theo’s mental collapse and death.

The author seems to be making statements about the treatment of women artists and women’s lives in general but for me it wasn’t new and it could’ve been dealt with in a quicker way. Among those artists is Vincent who will complicate the love between Theo and Johanna, complicate their marriage, and fracture her husband’s health. Johanna was an amazing woman who after the deaths of both Vincent and Theo in their 30’s determined that her husband’s life dreams to see Vincent’s work recognised would happen; it took many years but she never gave up, and the rest as they say is history. She even won over Holst eventually and he designed the cover of the catalogue to a major exhibition of Vincent's works.I love all the historical details, the building of the Eiffel Tower, the nightlife at Le Moulin de la Gallette and Le Chat Noir and the lives of other renowned artists such as Auguste Rodin. As an aspiring female artist in a world that still doesn’t accept women within the art world, Jo is determined to make a change.