{"product_id":"madame-solario","title":"Madame Solario","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"std\"\u003e\n\u003cimg width=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/7642\/5795\/files\/madame_solario_pic_for_page_7.jpg?v=1593112606\u0026amp;width=700\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAFTERWORD BY ALISON ADBURGHAM\u003cbr\u003e504pp\u003cbr\u003eISBN 9781910263105\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSet at Cadenabbia on Lake Como in September 1906, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eMadame Solario\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e (1956) evokes the leisure of the pre-1914 world and the sensuous delights of Italy: the chestnut woods, the shuttered villas, the garden paths encroached by oleanders: ‘the almost excessive beauty of the winding lake surrounded by mountains, the shores gemmed with golden-yellow villages and classical villas standing among cypress trees.’ When the mysterious Natalia Solario arrives at the Belle Vue Hotel, there are disquieting rumours about her past life and about her excessively close relationship to her brother.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe author herself was equally mysterious: \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMadame Solario\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e was published anonymously, which contributed to its succès de scandale (Gladys Huntington’s name was not revealed for thirty years). In 1956 the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e review of the book began: “The author of this extraordinary novel has chosen to remain anonymous. Curious, the mind invents fantastic impossibilities: Henry James crossed with Ivy Compton-Burnett rendered by EM Forster? [And we would add Edith Wharton to the mix.] Whatever the source, the controlling hand is strong, highly skilled and very sure…major theme is reinforced by echoing minor theme to the creation of a harmonious if disquieting whole.”  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe reviewer in \u003cem\u003eThe Listener\u003c\/em\u003e said: “Everyone seems concerned to prove \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eMadame Solario\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e either purist Jamesian diamond or common Ouidian paste.” \u003cem\u003eThe Bookman\u003c\/em\u003e called it ‘a major work of art… one is in the hands of a master” and the \u003cem\u003eObserver\u003c\/em\u003e “an extraordinary novel” and “an unusual and distinguished piece of work.” But the \u003cem\u003eIllustrated London News\u003c\/em\u003e was snidely damning: “If one can imagine Miss Daphne du Maurier writing a story in the style of Henry James, this might be the result.” (Although of course some might say we Persephone readers would be be more inclined to read Daphne du Maurier than Henry James...)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eC\u003c\/span\u003eomparison with Henry James persisted but Elizabeth Bowen is a more likely influence, with her power to make known what needs to be known without being told. In \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eMadame Solario\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003echaracter is revealed in a single gesture, by a sentence of greeting or a dismissive glance, by the movement of a gloved hand to adjust a veil. The intimation of incest emerges from the imperceptible to the barely perceptible, to the blindingly perceived.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eM\u003c\/span\u003eadame Solario\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e was filmed in France in 2012; it was chosen for inclusion in Laurence Cossé’s \u003cem\u003eA Novel Bookstore\u003c\/em\u003e as one of the best novels ever; and it was the subject of a book called \u003cem\u003eQui a écrit Madame Solario?\u003c\/em\u003e (a mystery like that of Elena Ferrante nowadays).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEndpaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"endpaper-caption\"\u003eTaken from a 1906 roller-printed cotton sateen manufactured by Steiner \u0026amp; Co. © V and A Images\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gladys Huntington","offers":[{"title":"None","offer_id":54098785698099,"sku":"vuc1789694683504","price":24.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Tissue\/Endpaper","offer_id":54098785730867,"sku":"kdd1789694683505","price":30.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Cambridge Imprint paper","offer_id":54098785763635,"sku":"znp1789694683506","price":37.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Reusable fabric napkin","offer_id":54098785796403,"sku":"ocj1789694683507","price":44.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0989\/0578\/4627\/files\/madame-solario_1.jpg?v=1789694689","url":"https:\/\/sandstepclad.shop\/products\/madame-solario","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}