by Isabel Wolff
I slide my arm around him. ‘You’re here,’ I murmur happily.
‘Of course I’m here.’ Nate kisses me. ‘Happy birthday, sweetheart.’
‘We were just talking about your portrait,’ Kay says. She looks at Nate, then at his painting. ‘It’s the very picture of you.’
Honey tilts her head as she studies it. ‘It is. You’ve really … captured him, Ella.’
Nate kisses me again. ‘She has.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’m indebted to the portrait painters Jonathan Yeo, June Mendoza, Nick Offer, Fanny Rush, Paul Benney and David Noakes, who kindly shared with me their insights into the art of portraiture. Any inaccuracies are entirely my own. I’d also like to thank Rodney Baldwin, of the art supplies shop, Green & Stone, and Amanda Wright for giving me the low-down on life as a hand and foot model. At HarperCollins I’m very grateful to my wonderful editor, Sarah Ritherdon, and to Lynne Drew, Hana Osman, Victoria Hughes-Williams, Liz Lambert, Laura Fletcher, Laura Mell, Charlotte Abrams-Simpson, Oliver Malcolm and Lisa Doyle. For her hawk-eyed copy-editing, huge thanks to Anne O’Brien. I’d also like to thank Rachel Hore, Louise Clairmonte and Ellie Howarth, who read the manuscript and encouraged me along the way. I’m indebted, as ever, to my brilliant agents, Clare Conville and Jake Smith-Bosanquet, and to everyone at Conville and Walsh. Jodie Terry kindly corrected my Australian, Shani Blich my Italian. Finally, I’d like to thank my family, who were endlessly supportive and tolerant during the writing process. So huge gratitude and love, as ever, to Greg, to our children Alice and Edmund, and to my stepsons, Freddie and George.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Very Picture of You is a work of fiction, but I wish to acknowledge that the inspiration for the story of Guy Lennox was reading about the sale at auction of a picture by the portraitist, Sir Herbert Gunn. Called ‘Design for a Group Portrait’, it was painted in 1929, and was of Sir Herbert’s three children, from whom, following his divorce, he had been estranged. The story of Grace Clarke was in part inspired by the tragic death of Eilidh Jake Caims, who was knocked off her bike at Notting Hill Gate in February 2009. Every day I use the pedestrian crossing close to the spot where she died, and was moved by the many touching tributes to her that were placed there. I also wish to acknowledge that I have taken one or two liberties with the history of the Northern Ballet Theatre, whose production of Giselle was in 1978, not 1979.
The following works were a useful resource during the research and writing of the book:
Northern Ballet Theatre: 40 Years in the Making:
published by Biskit Ltd.
Portraiture: Facing the Subject edited by Joanna Woodall,
published by Manchester University Press,
Portraiture by Richard Brilliant, published by Reaktion
Books
Painting People by Charlotte Mullins, published by
Thames and Hudson.
A Face to the World by Laura Cumming, published by
HarperPress
Changing Face: Contemporary Portraiture by Peter Monkman, published by Watts Gallery.
About the Author
ISABEL WOLFF was born in Warwickshire, England, and studied English at Cambridge. A former broadcaster and journalist, she is the author of eight bestselling novels, which are published in 29 languages. She lives in London, England, with her family. Visit her online at isabelwolff.com.
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Praise for Isabel Wolff
‘She’ll make you laugh out loud and tug your heart-strings.’
Hello!
‘Feel-good, gritty and full of surprises.’
Cosmopolitan
‘A touching, compulsive read. Love it!’
Heat
‘Charming, funny and unpredictable.’
Company
‘You won’t be able to put this romantic comedy down!’
Closer
‘Pure feel-good escapism. Perfect.’ Sophie Kinsella
‘Far more depth and sensitivity than you might anticipate … an absolute delight. Warm and wittily perceptive about human foibles.’
Kirkus UK Reviews
‘An engaging read and an intriguing page-turner.’
Sainsbury’s Magazine
‘It’s effervescent and heart-warming and somehow the pages just turn themselves.’
Big Issue
Also By Isabel Wolff
The Trials of Tiffany Trott
The Making of Minty Malone
Out of the Blue
Rescuing Rose
Behaving Badly
A Question of Love
Forget Me Not
A Vintage Affair
Copyright
The Very Picture of You
Copyright © 2011 by Isabel Wolff.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Epub Edition © SEPTEMBER 2011 ISBN: 978-1-443-40836-3
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
FIRST CANADIAN EDITION
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in review.
Tears In Heaven
Words and Music by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings Copyright © 1992 by E.C. Music Ltd. and Blue Sky Rider Songs All Rights for E.C. Music Ltd. Administered by Unichappell Music Inc. All Rights for Blue Sky Rider Songs Administered by Irving Music, Inc. International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation
Tears In Heaven
Words & Music by Eric Clapton & Will Jennings © Copyright, 1991 E.C. Music Limited (87.5%)/Blue Sky Rider Songs Rondor Music (London) Limited (12.5%) All rights in Germany administered by Rondor Musikverlag GmbH. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by permission of Music Sales Limited.
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