"Portraits of an Artist: A Novel about John Singer Sargent is a work of historical fiction based on the life of a brilliant yet troubled artist of the late nineteenth century. A contemporary and associate of famous celebrities such as Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Edward Burne-Jones and Sarah Bernhardt, Sargent's meteoric rise to fame followed by his striking fall from grace, and his retreat to London from Paris, are the tragic underpinnings of his unforgettable career. The stories behind two of his finest paintings, "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" and "Madame X", are also explored in context. Told in first-person perspective from the points of view of numerous individuals who figured prominently in Sargent's life, "Portraits of an Artist" is an unforgettable reconstruction of a talented man's search to find meaning in life through art. Highly recommended." -- The Fiction Shelf of the Midwest Book Review
"An evocative rendering of the great portraitist, John Singer Sargent, as seen through the eyes of the subjects of his most famous paintings. A tour de force of historical and psychological imagination." --Paula Marantz Cohen, author of What Alice Knew, Jane Austen in Scarsdale
"Burns skillfully brings the subjects of his portraits to life, telling their stories in their own voices as the mystery of who Sargent really is, and the culture that both supported and constrained him, is gradually and artfully revealed." -- Laurel Corona, author of Finding Emilie, Penelope's Daughter, The Four Seasons
Author Biography:
Mary F. Burns writes historical fiction, including an historical mystery series featuring the artist John Singer Sargent and the writer Violet Paget (aka Vernon Lee). She is a member of and frequent speaker for the Historical Novel Society, as well as the Henry James Society and the International Vernon Lee Society. Ms. Burns was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb (BA/MA English Lit); J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. She lives in San Francisco with her husband. Before she wrote novels, her career focused on media relations, corporate communications, crisis communication consulting, and event organization.
As an independent scholar, Mary has focused her studies and writing on Vernon Lee, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf. Her novels frequently include noted authors as characters, such as Jack London, George Sand, John Singer Sargent, Vernon Lee, and Henry James. Her literary essay "Reading Mrs. Dalloway" was published in 2020, and the Henry James Review published her paper on Vernon Lee and Henry James in the Winter 2023 issue. She has presented papers at various academic conferences: The Sargentology Conference, York University, 2016; Henry James Society Annual Conference, Trieste University, 2019; Vernon Lee: Aesthetics & Empathy at Churchill College, Cambridge, 2022; Keynote Speaker, Teesside University Postgraduate Conference 2023: Ethics, Literature, Culture. Her website is www.maryfburns.com
Mary F. Burns writes historical fiction, including an historical mystery series featuring the artist John Singer Sargent and the writer Violet Paget (aka Vernon Lee). She is a member of and frequent speaker for the Historical Novel Society, as well as the Henry James Society and the International Vernon Lee Society. Ms. Burns was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb (BA/MA English Lit); J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law. She lives in San Francisco with her husband.
