The Talented Miss Farwell: A Novel

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Catch Me If You Can meets Patricia Highsmith in this stylish (New York Times Book Review) page-turner of greed and obsession, survival and self-invention that is a piercing character study of one unforgettable female con artist.

At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christies in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as shes known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, shes a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make.

But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirelya quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her familys farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the towns treasurer and controller.

No one understands the ins and outs of Piersons accounts better than Becky; shes the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesnt seeand can never discoveris that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, borrowed funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable.

But as Reba Farwells deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwells debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life

Reviews

Becky Farwell is one of the most wickedly compelling characters I've read in ages--a Machiavellian marvel, a modern Becky Sharp, a character to root for despite your better judgment--and her story, both topical and timeless, will knock you off your feet.--Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers
Stylish. ... The fictional Becky is playing a more morally complex game."--New York Times Book Review
"The gritty underbelly of the art market and the pathology of decades of financial chicanery meet their delirious match in Tedrowe's Miss Farwell, who stands glaring up at the reader from the intersection of Hitchcock's Marnie and Highsmith's Ripley. Watch out for paper cuts."--Jonathan Lethem
"Sharp, darkly comedic, and full of fascinating facts about the art world."--CrimeReads
Perfectly executed...Tedrowe does a spectacular job of demonstrating the mindset of a character who justifies her criminal activity while believing she's ultimately good.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Talented Miss Farwell is utterly magnificent. Not since Tom Ripley have I fallen so hard for a con artist...Becky Farwell is an unforgettable character. She is the beating heart of this spellbinding page-turner about art, greed, and self-invention.--Cristina Alger, New York Times bestselling author of Girls Like Us
If ever you are looking for a book to provide an escape from your own reality, I heartily recommend Emily Gray Tedrowe's The Talented Miss Farwell. Becky Farwell is the most sympathetic, art-collecting, money-laundering villain I have ever encountered. She literally bleeds her hometown dry -- the empty swimming pools of Pierson are heartbreaking -- and yet somehow, I loved her. --Marcy Dermansky, author of Very Nice
"Both light-hearted and deeply conflicted, Tedrowe's caper, with its Becky Sharp allusions, raises significant moral issues." --Booklist

Author Bio

Emily Gray Tedrowe is the Chicago-based author of the novels The Talented Miss Farwell, Blue Stars, and Commuters. She earned a PhD in English literature from New York University, and a BA from Princeton University. She has received an Illinois Arts Council award as well as fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Sewanee Writers Conference. A frequent book reviewer for USA Today as well as other publications, Tedrowe also writes essays, interviews, and short stories.