Still Life

Listed in the Visual Arts category on Art In Fiction,  Still Life (2021) by Dodie Bishop is a 17th-centure historical romance. Clara Peeters’ idyllic upbringing is shattered by her mother’s death, leaving her with a secret horror of childbirth. When her childhood love, Henri, proposes marriage and she refuses, they are both left heartbroken, though she must conceal her pain. Defying convention, gifted artist Clara becomes a pupil to the renowned painter, Osias Beerts. But when the highly prized patronage won from the powerful Burgomeister Fabritius turns to hostility, Clara has to make sacrifices and risk everything to pursue her craft. Together with fellow pupil Nico, the two find themselves surrounded by dangerous secrets and powerful enemies. But in the face of so much past pain, can something as fragile as love survive? “…an absorbing portrait of a time and place and of a talented woman’s struggle against convention.” – Historical Novel Society Dodie Bishop's love of history pushed her towards writing historical fiction, starting with a dual time-line novel for an MA in Creative Writing with the Open University. Dodie first encountered Clara Peeters in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, drawn by a female name amongst so many men from an era when they were not expected to stray beyond the home. Yet here was a woman whose paintings had survived for 400 years.  Buy Now from Amazon