From the Orange Prize-nominated author of The Observations comes an absorbing, atmospheric exploration of one young woman’s friendship with a volatile artist and her place in the controversy that consumes him. Jane Harris’s Gillespie and I presents a strongly voiced female protagonist evocative of Moll Flanders and Becky Sharp, who offers a keen sensibility, deeply felt observations, and poignant remembrances of the world of a young artist in turn-of-the-century Glasgow in this fantastic work of historical fiction. London’s Sunday Times calls Gillespie and I “a literary novel where the storytelling is as skilful as the writing is fine.” Fans of The Piano Teacher and The Thirteenth Tale will find it irresistible and unforgettable.
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Sexual Content - /5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - 1/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - /5
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Summary
Ned Gillespie is an undiscovered artist living with his family in Glasgow in the 1880s. Although they are quite happy, Ned’s artwork doesn’t quite provide for his family and they struggle financially. Several coincidental meetings bring him together with Harriet Baxter, an independently wealthy Englishwoman who becomes his benefactor and close family friend. Harriet is soon a fixture of the household, sometimes helping them financially or otherwise. The story is told in flashbacks of the 80 year old Harriet while writing her memoirs. Going back and forth between the 1880s and 1930s, she is a humorous narrator. The phrases and vocabulary are either very British or very Victorian, several times I had to reread sections to figure out their meaning. There are many twists and the unexpected ending is something I’m still mulling over