The Last Beautiful Girl

by Nina Laurin

  The investigation concluded that the fire was a result of a faulty gas duct.

  It was occupied at the time by the family of one of Amory’s professors. The professor as well as her husband were away at the time of the fire, and their daughter made it out safely. The family asks for privacy at this difficult time.

  ————

  Turn-of-The-Century Artist Muse House Destroyed

  The Isabella Granger House in Amory, Mass., became the site of a life-and-death drama last week when firefighters received a call about an explosion and a fire. The house burned to the ground, and all the priceless artworks within it have presumably been destroyed and are lost to us for good.

  Or are they?

  Don’t you fret, my darlings! Luckily, we live in the internet age when nothing truly disappears. Dozens, maybe hundreds of photos and paintings of Isabella Granger survive online. The great artist’s model can live on forever and ever on the internet and social media.

  But don’t take our word for it! One of our staff found an incredible Instagram account supposedly belonging to the girl who used to live in the house. (She’s fine, by the way, although neither she nor her family responded to our requests for comment.) Project Isabella brings the enigmatic socialite—about whom so little is known, to shame!—back to life, along with her era. The pics are truly incredible. They capture the spirit of a time lost with an impeccable sense of beauty and aesthetic.

  Here’s our selection of the best of Project Isabella. This Edwardian diva was the inspiration to so many great minds—who knows what she’ll inspire in you!

  Acknowledgments

  First, thank you to my agent Rachel Ekstrom Courage and everyone at Folio Literary Management. Also huge thanks to Adam Wilson and Ruth Pomerance.

  Thank you to the team at Sourcebooks for your enthusiasm, excitement, and hard work on this project! Heartfelt thanks especially to Molly Cusick, Wendy McClure, Meaghan Summers, Cassie Gutman, Danielle McNaughton, and Casey Moses.

  And finally, thank you to my lovely family for always being there for me.

  About the Author

  Nina Laurin studied creative writing at Concordia University in Montreal, where she currently lives. She arrived there when she was just twelve years old, and she speaks and reads in Russian, French, and English. She is the bestselling author of the adult suspense novels Girl Last Seen, What My Sister Knew, and The Starter Wife. Nina is fascinated by the darker side of mundane things, and she’s always on the lookout for her next twisted book idea.

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