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Event
Degas and The Painted Girls
Have you ever wondered about the story behind the dancers immortalized by the artwork of Degas? Please join us for our latest Beyond the Book experience celebrating the historical novel The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan. Begin the day with a private curated tour of Degas's Women at The Norton Simon Museum before it is open to the public. Then enjoy a private book club luncheon with the author, Cathy Marie Buchanan, at Il Fornaio in Pasadena. We recommend that you read the book before the event so you can participate in the discussion facilitated by our own Julie Robinson and the Q&A with our guest author. Space is Limited.
ABOUT THE BOOK
1878 Paris. Following their father's sudden death, the van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction from their lodgings seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opéra, where for a scant seventeen francs a week, she will be trained to enter the famous ballet. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds work as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola's naturalist masterpiece L'Assommoir.
Marie throws herself into dance and is soon modeling in the studio of Edgar Degas, where her image will forever be immortalized as Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. There she meets a wealthy male patron of the ballet, but might the assistance he offers come with strings attached? Meanwhile Antoinette, derailed by her love for the dangerous Émile Abadie, must choose between honest labor and the more profitable avenues open to a young woman of the Parisian demimonde.
Set at a moment of profound artistic, cultural, and societal change, The Painted Girls is a tale of two remarkable sisters rendered uniquely vulnerable to the darker impulses of "civilized society." In the end, each will come to realize that her salvation, if not survival, lies with the other.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CATHY MARIE BUCHANAN is the author of The Painted Girls and The Day the Falls Stood Still. Published January 2013, The Painted Girls has received enthusiastic reviews (Kirkus, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today) and has garnered favourable notices in Vanity Fair, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Chicago Tribune, Costco Connection and Chatelaine. Also an IndieNext pick, The Painted Girls debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list and is a national bestseller in Canada. The Day the Falls Stood Still, her debut novel, was aNew York Times bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection, and an IndieNext pick.
She holds a BSc (Biochemistry) and an MBA from Western University. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario, she now resides in Toronto.
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LocationNorton Simon Museum (View)
411 W Colorado Boulevard
Pasadena, CA 91105
United States
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| Dog Friendly: No |
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