Derville Murphy

The Art Collector's Daughter Derville Murphy

'An impressive debut, expertly researched and compelling narrated' - Patricia O'Reilly (The First Rose of Tralee) Love, art, and obsession, set between Nazi occupied Paris and rural Ireland.

As the Germans advance on Paris in 1940, a young Jewish girl, Sylvie Vasseur, is sent by her father to rural Ireland to live with the Courtney family. He also sends his valuable art collection - including a portrait of Sylvie by the renowned Mateus, Girl on a Swing.

Sylvia is seduced by the narcissistic elder son Nicholas Courtney when she is eighteen, but he abandons her when he discovers she is pregnant. To avoid the inevitable social stigma, Sylvie marries his brother Peter.

In Dublin, she becomes involved in the art scene, achieving critical acclaim as a painter. But, trapped in a loveless marriage, she continues to be obsessed with Nicholas. Until, unexpectedly, secrets from her father's past emerge, leading her to question everything she once believed. Shortly after, she is found drowned on a Wexford beach.

Seventeen years later, Claire Howard, struggling art historian, is hired by the Courtney family to record Sylvie's lifeworks. Fascinated by the artist and working with Sylvie's son Sam, Claire travels between Dublin and Paris, eventually unravelling a labyrinth of deceit and lies that threaten to endanger her life.