Haven't heard of a Pablo Picasso masterwork called Woman Laughing? That's because it doesn't exist, as Lily Summers, assistant keeper of the Modern Collections at London's Tate Gallery, discovers in The English Masterpiece, a rewardingly escapist art-centered thriller from Katherine Reay (Lizzy & Jane; The Austen Escape; Of Literature and Lattes).
It's 1973, Picasso has just died, and Lily's boss at the Tate has decided to create a small commemorative exhibition for the artist. Lily, a painter herself who has studied Picasso, is delighted with the exhibition until, at its opening, she pauses before Woman Laughing: the painting is "a perfect execution of Picasso's surrealist period. But something feels off." In front of all in attendance, she blurts, "That's a forgery." This causes a scandal, infuriates the Tate's director, and makes the wealthy industrialist who loaned out the painting look shady. To save her job, Lily vows to learn the painting's provenance; meanwhile, a theory mounts that Lily herself is the forger.
Artistic provenance, the inner workings of a museum, Tate Gallery history, a plot point revolving around Piet Mondrian's signature grids--the art stuff is all nimbly worked into the story. But The English Masterpiece isn't just for art lovers; it's a woman-swimming-against-the-tide novel marked by two Reay mainstays: romance and emotional growth. Some readers will find a thread involving Lily's family overwrought, but everyone should appreciate having their expectations dashed by one of the novel's surprises, which include a cameo from a young Pierce Brosnan (an author's note explains all). --Nell Beram, author and freelance write