Estelle: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

When Edgar Degas visits his French Creole relatives in New Orleans from 1872 to '73, Estelle, his cousin and sister-in-law, encourages the artist-who has not yet achieved recognition and struggles to find inspiration-to paint portraits of their family members. In 1970, Anne Gautier, a young artist, finds connections between her ancestors and Degas while renovating the New Orleans house she has inherited. When Anne finds two identical portraits of Estelle, she discovers disturbing truths that change her life as she searches for meaningful artistic expression-just as Degas did one hundred years earlier. A gripping historical novel told by two women living a century apart, Estelle combines mystery, family saga, art, and romance in its exploration of the man Degas was before he became the artist famous around the world today.

Reviews

Finalist in 2022 International Book Awards for Best New Fiction
Silver medal in IPPY 2021 Book Awards in Historical Fiction
First Place for Romance Fiction in Chanticleer 2020 International Book Awards
Finalist in 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for First Novel
Finalist in 2021 Eric Hoffer Book Awards

Finalist in 2021 Nancy Pearl Award in Genre Fiction
Finalist in 2020 Best Book Awards in Art

One of Summers Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Titles.
She Reads

. . . a promising debut . . . Henley brings New Orleans to life as she braids two intriguing storiesEdgar Degas art and dalliance with Marguerite, and Annes treasure hunt into Degas poorly-known early history.
Historical Novels Review

An engaging read.
Bookstalker blog

A captivating novel about art and the artists journey!
Readers Favorite, 5 star review

A beautifully mesmerizing debut novel set in New Orleans that will haunt readers long after the very last page is read.
Chanticleer Reviews

2020 Spotlight in Historical Fiction List
Houston Buzz Magazine

Interweaving a contemporary story with a rich and detailed glimpse into a little-known segment of famed French painter Edgar Degass life, Linda Stewart Henley invites readers into the intriguing art world of New Orleans through interlocking storylines set a century apart. An admirable debut.
Ashley E. Sweeney, award-winning author of Eliza Waite

Edgar Degas and Sam Mollineux are seductive, brilliant, and fiendishly evasive. In this powerful historical novel, both men leave many beautiful dreamers in their wakeincluding themselves.
Thomas West, PhD, former Professor, University of Paris-Nanterre, and former chief editor, Art International

Linda Stewart Henley does a beautiful job re-imagining Degass trip to America and cleverly weaves it with Anne Gautiers story as it unfolds a hundred years later. Estelle is a colorful, intriguing page-turner that keeps the reader guessing right up until the very end.
Michelle Cox, multiple award-winning author of the Henrietta Inspector Howard series

Replete with meticulously researched details, sympathetic characters, and two equally captivating storylines, the book will keep readers guessing until its conclusion. For anyone with even so much as a passing interest in art of history, this book is a gem.
Jacqueline Friedland, award-winning author of Trouble the Water and That's Not a Thing

. . . a very riveting book . . . Usually when I read dual timeline stories I am only drawn to one of the two plots but in this case I was thoroughly captivated by both. It was a wonderful escape from all of the work of the harvest this seasonto just escape to New Orleans with Edgar Degas, a mystery or two, some very well crafted stories and then the itch to look up the paintings mentioned so I could revel in the brilliance of Degas art.
Books, Cooks, and Looks

Author Bio

Linda Stewart Henley is an English-born American who moved to the United States at sixteen. She is a graduate of Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans. She currently lives with her husband in Anacortes, Washington. This is her first novel.