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    Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet
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    Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet
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    Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet
    Audiobook10 hours

    Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet

    Written by Stephanie Cowell

    Narrated by Christopher Cazenove

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A vividly-rendered portrait of both the rise of Impressionism and of the artist at the center of the movement, Claude and Camille is above all a love story of the highest romantic order.

    In the mid-nineteenth century, a young man named Claude Monet decided that he would rather endure a difficult life painting landscapes than take over his father's nautical supplies business in a French seaside town. Against his father's will, and with nothing but a dream and an insatiable urge to create a new style of art that repudiated the Classical Realism of the time, he set off for Paris.
     
    But once there he is confronted with obstacles: an art world that refused to validate his style, extreme poverty, and a war that led him away from his home and friends. But there were bright spots as well: his deep, enduring friendships with men named Renoir, Cézanne, Pissarro, Manet-a group that together would come to be known as the Impressionists, and that supported each other through the difficult years. Even more illuminating was his lifelong love, Camille Doncieux, a beautiful, upper-class Parisian girl who threw away her privileged life to be by the side of the defiant painter and embrace the lively Bohemian life of their time.
     
    His muse, his best friend, his passionate lover, and the mother to his two children, Camille stayed with Monet-and believed in his work-even as they lived in wretched rooms and often suffered the indignities of destitution. But Camille had her own demons-secrets that Monet could never penetrate-including one that when eventually revealed would pain him so deeply that he would never fully recover from its impact.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 6, 2010
    ISBN9780307712431
    Unavailable
    Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet

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    Reviews for Claude & Camille

    4/5

    131 ratings28 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I confess ... I completely picked up this book because of the cover.

      (Admit it, you would have too.)

      As one of the artists known as the Impressionists, Claude Monet's paintings have become among the most recognized and best loved in the world. However, as Claude and Camille makes very clear, his success was definitely not of the overnight variety. Monet's work was routinely dismissed and the success he did have came very late in his life.

      Claude and Camille is a historical novel about the life of Monet and Camille Doncieux, who he met in a bookshop and who modeled for many of his now-well known paintings. The two fell in love and lived a life that can only be described as one that was solely dedicated to each other and Claude's art.

      Perpetually believing and declaring that he was on the verge of some great success, Claude was constantly penniless and often owed money to everyone and anyone. When he and Camille weren't being evicted from one rented room after another, they were living with Claude's passel of artist friends.

      Ah, yes ... the friends. These weren't just any ordinary, run-of-the-mill friends. (At the time they were, because like Monet, they all were poor and spent days imploring passersby and patrons in restaurants for a chance to sketch them for a few francs.) These BFFs of Monet's had names like Renoir, Pissaro, Degas, Cezanne, Bazille, and Manet.

      Their interactions make for some of the strongest parts of Claude and Camille. I loved reading about this group, their back and forth banter, their steadfast support of and belief in one another. They were always a day late and a dollar short, always borrowing money from someone's family member. They had grandiose plans for an independent exhibition of their collective work - which eventually did happen, but which took years to become more than a dream (again, due to the lack of money).

      In some ways, I liked the relationship between the artists moreso than the one with Claude and Camille. Theirs was a love story, absolutely, but a frustrating one. At times, Claude was a little maddening; you wanted to shake the guy and tell him to man up and get a real job so Camille and his baby, Jean, would have a decent home and enough food on the table. (He often turned down "regular" jobs, such as working in his father's nautical supply business, that would have provided a stable income.) Claude left Camille for months on several occasions. He was also, if the dialogue is any indication of his real personality, a bit prone to melodrama and haughtiness.

      Camille wasn't perfect either (she probably suffered from undiagnosed depression - who the hell could blame the poor woman?) and while she had the patience of a saint to put up with Claude's dreams, you have to give her credit for believing in the guy when others would (and did) give up on him. Still, she did so at a price to herself, giving up on her own dreams of writing and being an actress.

      (This is, of course, easy to say in 2010. Back in the mid-1800s, things were a bit different.)

      I enjoyed Claude and Camille, but there was something - I can't quite pinpoint what, exactly - that was a little flat. It might have been in the dialogue. It was certainly very interesting in terms of subject matter (especially in regards to the Impressionists' lives and friendships) but as a novel, Claude and Camille didn't rise to the level of being a stay-up-all-night type of captivating read. That said, if you're a fan of Monet's work or any of the Impressionists, and if you enjoy historical fiction and a good - but sad - love story, this is a satisfying read about one of the best known artists we may not have known this much about.
    • 4/5
      Monet is my favorite painter of all-time; I can't count how many times I've visited his paintings at the Art Institute, and walking through his gardens at Giverney was the experience of a lifetime. This book was not only beautifully written, but gave such insight into Monet the person as well as Monet the painter. From his relationships with his friends to his almost obsessive need to capture the world through his paintbrush to his never-ending love for Camille, Cowell makes Monet and his life come alive.
    • 4/5
      I profess that my knowledge of art and artists is limited- but I was drawn to this novel after reading positive reviews of it on a blog. The cover is just beautiful and the summary sounded absolutely fascinating- a fictionalised account of the rise of the impressionist art movement, and in particular the story of Claude Monet (one of the masters of this movement) and his muse, Camille Doncieux, and most importantly, the love that they share.Though this book started off somewhat slowly I wasn't disappointed by the content overall. The writing flows beautifully and is a delight to read with really well done scene setting and great characterisation. I could almost smell the linseed oil and envisage the rickety artists' studio that Monet and his fellow artists inhabited in Paris as well as picture the disarray and squalor that Claude and Camille endured during times of poverty.Though this is of course fiction, the author acknowledges a lot of what is written is based upon true events. It was interesting to read some of the quotes from not only Monet but the other impressionists at the top of each chapter. It has encouraged me to look at more of their work too (the artists studio painted by Bazille is a prime example)- the book also contains a list of paintings at the end that are featured within the novel, which is very useful and adds more depth to the story.The romance between Claude and Camille was believable- not always the most straight-forward of relationships and with neither party being the easiest of people to live with, the novel chronicles their journey from their very first meeting. For me, though the crux of this novel was about Claude and Camille, I have to say that personally I enjoyed the details about the artists more- the friendships that they shared and their individual character traits that made them so remarkable and their paintings so worthwhile. I would really love to read more fictionalised accounts of these artists one day.If you enjoy contemporary romantic fiction with a bit of a difference or have an interest in art then I think you would enjoy this novel. I would like to read more of this authors work in future.*This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk*
    • 5/5
      tephanie Cowell brings Claude Monet back to life in her latest book Claude and Camille. Monet, a starving artist is haunted by a woman he saw before boarding a train. Four years later, this woman walks back into his life. Camille Doncieux, is a woman of privilege who sees potential in this down on his luck painter. Camille gives up her life of luxury and her parents approval to stay by her Monet. Their early relationship is rocky and tumultuous. Claude struggles to give his Minou everything she deserves as she adjusts to living life with a poor painter. Possessions get pawned and sold, they get evicted. But they still love each other. Both struggle under the weight of daily life, but somehow manage to survive with help from each other. This is a beautiful real life love story. This is the second book by Stephanie Cowell that I have read. Though the books are similar in subjects, each has its own feel. Stephanie created the perfect feel of Claude and Camille. She perfectly captured both their despair and hope, as well as their gorgeous love story. This was a wonderful touching book! I even cried at the end. Enjoy some of my favorite parts:"His face still buried, he asked, 'Do you remember my painting of the magpie on a snowy fence in a field? I am that magpie, you see. He's so alone. I face the canvas and there's nothing there, because I think it's all been vanity with me and I've never been good enough. And I can't paint.""'I could wipe all bad dreams away,' he said tenderly. 'I could give you a nice life. The one we always planned for. It's so odd that out of such chaos a possibility of something beautiful comes. I thought this wasn't so, but now I believe it. We must make the losses into beauty, somehow.Will you let me?'She nodded, and even though she looked down, he could see that she was smiling. 'Yes', she said. 'All I ever wanted was a life with you. I knew it, but I was safe here. Will you make me safe again, Claude?'""He never told her he thought often of Camille."
    • 3/5
      Just finished Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet: Ho hum book but interesting and educational in the background of an "artist life in Paris 1875". Described the "true love" between Claud and Camille Monet. Monet, as so many geniuses are, was driven by his art. His art was first and foremost in his life, family, room and board came second. Not much fun to live with a genius. I had to follow up with a look at the Impressionist Art from that era.
    • 4/5
      This novel focuses on the life of Claude Monet from his first desires to become a painter in 1857 until the death of his muse, model, lover, and wife, Camille Doncieux. It takes the form of a retrospective: in between each of the novel's seven chronological sections are imagined musings of the elderly Monet in Givenchy, trying to make peace through letters to Camille's sister, Annette, who blames him for her early death. The lovers' complicated relationship shapes the less interesting strain of [Claude and Camille]. Both characters come across as rather selfish, demanding, self-pitying, and whiny. More intriguing are Monet's relationships with his fellow impressionists, Bazille, Cezanne, Pissaro, Renoir, and others, as well as his struggle to break away from his family's expectation that he take over his father's nautical supply shop. And Cowell presents a fine portrayal of the horrors of war, not only on the young men caught up in it but on the innocent bystanders. While this is not the best historical novel I've read about Monet and the impressionists, it's worth the time for those with an interest in the movement and the period.
    • 4/5
      Monet, you'd have to be living under a rock to have never seen a work of art done by his hand but what do you know about his life and the struggles he faced during his life?This is a novel about Monet's three loves- his work, his wife and his friends. Monet's father does not approve of his career aspirations but that does not stop him from pursuing his dreams and the love of his life, Camille. Camille is a class above him, he loves her but can not guarantee her a life to which she is accustomed; is their love destined or does his love of art over power the love they share? Even his best friend, Frederic Bazille plays an important role in Monet's life, both professionally and personally. Being familiar with the life of Monet, I enjoyed the personal story of his life, love and friendships. I did find the middle of the book to drag a bit and be repetitive at times, but such was Monet's life. Overall, I loved the historical information included within the love story of Claude and Camille and would recommend the book to fans of Impressionists painters. (There is a mini-series called The Impressionists that is worth renting if you love Monet)
    • 4/5
      This is what I would call historical fiction "lite" with a healthy dose of romance. That said, it was well done. I'm a bit Monet/Impressionist fan and I love reading anything about Paris during that time, so it was a delight in that regard. It was very interesting to read how Monet got into painting and how, against great odds, continued on to be a great painter. I also loved the friendships he had with the other Impressionists. I have read various novels/non fiction about many of those painters, but this felt "new." However, the love story was a little too perfect and even when Monet acted deplorably, he was still portrayed as a super nice guy and they were so, so, so, so in love (but hey, it is a romance). Whether he was, or wasn't, it's hard to say, but some of it felt a little too wonderful. That said, it is one author's approach to the love story, of which very little seems to actually be known (especially about Camille). It is a quick, enjoyable and at times, transporting, read. So I do recommend it. Even if you think there is nothing new to be said about the Impressionists, you will find some tidbits you did not know.
    • 5/5
      The beginning of this book was just slightly slow to start for me, but once I got past the first few short chapters I delved right into it and devoured the rest of the book. This is the story of the artist / impressionist Claude Monet and his tragic love affair with Camille Doncieux. It is sad that these two struggled so much just to make ends meet when he would surely be a rich man if he was alive today. I enjoyed this book so much that I am now off to seek more by the same author.
    • 4/5
      The story of the great painter Claude Monet and the woman he loved Camille Doncieux. Always struggling to make ends meet they move from one place to another, never having the money to pay the rent but the love of painting always calls out to him. When he has no money for paint or brushes he scrapes and cleans an old painting and starts anew. A fascinating read and one where you won't forget the characters for a long time.
    • 5/5
      "He stood on the bridge. I am not done painting my lilies, he thought. There is always, as there is with love, more to say, but now I am tired and pleased."If I were asked to tell what words first comes to mind when thinking about Monet, I would have to say water lilies. When I began reading Claude & Camille by Stephanie Cowell, I realized Claude Monet's life involved more than the beautiful water lilies he painted in Giverny. For example, I had never heard of the painting named Woman in The Green Dress. For this painting the model was Camille. Camille is the woman Monet loved with all of his heart. Their love was passionate and beautiful. At the same time, there were moments of turmoil. As with most artists Claude Monet lacked money. Camille came from a well off family. She was not use to cold rooms, debtors begging for money, lack of food, etc. Another problem they faced in their relationship was Camille's love for city life. She loved Paris and people while Claude Monet loved country life. In the cold and the rain he would stand trying to capture the right light.Claude and Camille's love affair could have been the beginning, middle and end of the novel. However, along the way other people would interweave themselves in to their lives for better or for worse. There is Alice Hoschede. Also, there is Frederic Bazille. Both of these people become interlocked in the lives of Claude and Camille making their simple romantic love very perplexing, shocking, sad and confusing.The novel is as beautiful as any of Claude Monet's masterpieces. It is book I will never forget. I am sure all the people I named will step through my memory on any morning, afternoon or evening whether I'm drinking a mug of cocoa in the winter, planting a geranium in the summer or crying and kissing a loved one goodbye for the very last time. I will always remember that love given and lost happens in so many different ways. Now I have ended the book. The last image in my mind are the beautiful water lilies painted by Claude Monet. Perhaps, if I look deep enough, there is a message for me inside those nightly blooms."Outside, twilight was falling on the gardens, and the water lilies would be closing for the night. He wiped his eyes and sat for a time to calm himself. Looking around once more, he left the studio and slowly descended the stairs."
    • 4/5
      I received this book from the Read It Forward program. Simply put, I loved it! I think it is a beautiful story. It is not your traditional love story, but that is what I love about it. It is more believable than the traditional mushy love story. I think the relationship between Monet and Camille is very easy to relate to. It was intriguing to take a peek into the life of such an important and respected artist, and see a side of him that maybe people wouldn't associate with him, because all they can see is the art. I look forward to reading more book by this author. It also piqued my interest in the world of art and its masters.
    • 4/5
      my review: I enjoyed reading about Monet and the life of the impressionists in Paris. The writing was lovely, though the dialogue a bit pedantic. this was unfortunate as otherwise, the book would have been quite good.I think the author did a good job of focusing on the relationship between Monet and Camille, and just touching upon the many other artists that make an appearance, such as Degas, Cezanne, Renoir, Manet, Pissaro, and Baztille. Though Bazille plays a large role, the rest are minor characters. I'm not sure I found Monet likable, more whiny than anything, but again that was most likely due to the dialogue. I'm not sure that is how the author meant to portray him. I think I would have preferred a story focusing on the painters as I did not find it particularly romantic. But it was a nice piece of historical fiction featuring an artist, who's work I love.my rating 3.5/5
    • 4/5
      You've probably heard of Claude Monet, the painter, does lots of flowers and lily pads? Well this is the story of how he became the impressionist that is known and loved. He struggles with his art, with his friends and of course with his love life. He meets Camille, who turns out to be the love of his life, but does she have a secret? Though they come from different classes and have a difficult life today they are truly in love.I was pleasantly surprised with this novel. I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, and if you share that love this is most likely a story for you. Told entirely from Monet's perspective you get a real feel for the life of a poor artist in Paris. It was interesting to see the interactions of Monet with his other artists friends, like Renoir, Cezanne, Dega's and Manet.. Monet is a flawed character, and his drive to paint nearly costs him everything on several occasions. While this isn't the most original story it was good and engaging. Like i said, if you're a fan of the likes of Chevalier and Vreeland this is a novel for you.
    • 4/5
      "Claude & Camille" is a historical novel about the painter Claude Monet and his love Camille. Claude joins his painter friends in Paris trying to get their work recognized. They have a difficult time finding buyers and so live a life of poverty. Claude and Camille fall madly in love, although their life of poverty and bitter opposition from their families tests their love. There is great success and great tragedy, camaraderie, and wonderful art. You will want to go online to see the art. I enjoyed the book very much and learned so much about the struggles of the Impressionists.
    • 4/5
      I was very excited to receive this book and have the opportunity to read/review [claude and Camille]. This was an interesting story based on historical facts regarding Monet his wife, Camille and their other famous friends. It was very interesting to read of all the struggles these amazing artists struggled through. I was glad I didn't look up the picture of the woman in the green dress until I finished the story. I had imagined Camille in a completely different way. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in historical fiction and the impressionist art movement.
    • 4/5
      A great read. A love story and examination of an artist's commitment and devotion to passion and his work. Wonderful details of the era and snippets into the intersecting lives of the French Impressionists. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      Claude Monet, Frédéric Bazille, Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, and Alfred Sisley were their names, and though they are instantly recognizable to us today, there was once a time when these great artists had to sell off their bed linens to purchase paint, removing the wooden stretchers from their canvases to use as fuel to keep their fires burning for just an hour longer in the dead of winter. It amazes me that they struggled together for so long, sharing a tattered studio space and attempting to get people to see past the old-fashioned classical styles of painting and learn to appreciate their unique, stylized methods, which people of the hoity-toity 19th century art world referred to as “unfinished.”I love books that deal with artists and art history, but my reading in the past has focused more on Renaissance artists (and any regular readers of this blog will already know my great fascinating with all things Leonardo da Vinci). I knew a little bit of background on the Impressionists but this book brought all my imaginative assumptions to life with in-depth dialogue and characterization. I had no idea the extent of the camaraderie that existed between these artists; the enormous support they provided for each other artistically, emotionally and financially. As Camille states later on in the book, the way these men lived was “un pour tous, tous pour un,” —all for one and one for all.I was fully and completely captivated by this book. It totally changed everything I thought I knew about Monet's work. An amateur artist myself, I can somewhat appreciate the mental tug-of-war that can go on inside an artist’s head when creating a composition. “Am I capturing the light just right? Is that tone correct for the mood I am attempting to portray?” – It can be frustrating, to say the least. Granted, I’ve never reached the point of frustration whereby nothing short of ripping my work down off its canvas will cleanse my lack of satisfaction (as Monet did). But it was fun for me to get inside Monet’s head a bit and rehash that feeling of never being quite pleased with one’s own work, despite what praise others may give it. Stephanie Cowell grew up among a family of artists, so I’m sure that it is no small coincidence that she really nailed the artist mentality in this book.The way the characters’ personalities progressed throughout the novel was very endearing, and I especially liked the “Interludes” scattered throughout the book, which transitioned from Claude as a young starving artist to him at an old age looking back on his life. As I learned at a recent Stephanie Cowell book signing and talk the evening of publication day (more on that to follow!), very little—essentially nothing—is known about Camille. So the fact that Ms. Cowell was able to fill in those blanks so believably and with enough restraint that Camille, a rebellious upper class gentlewoman, could plausibly fit into her restrictive time period is very impressive to me. Camille’s character is complex, though. While at first it appears that she is simply adventurous, yearning to shun rigid society life and pursue a career as an actress (an absolute nightmare to her parents, who see acting as no more modest a profession than prostitution), we later find out that there is more to “The Parisian Queen” than just the charming young muse in the green opera dress.I'll never look at a Monet painting the same way again!FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review.
    • 4/5
      Claude & Camille: a novel of Monet. Stephanie Cowell. 2011. This is a great fictionalize biography Monet and his model, lover, and wife, Camille. I love reading about the Impressionists! There is an impressive bibliography at the end of the book which always pleases me, I don’t feel like I have “cheated” by reading a novel instead of a real biography! It is fascinating to read about the struggles of Monet and the other artists as they fight for acceptance and fame. Even more interesting to me was the personal lives of these painters and their families. This makes me want to re-read The Private Lives of the Impressionists. I loved it!
    • 4/5
      Library summary:. A vividly-rendered portrait of both the rise of Impressionism and of the artist at the center of the movement, Claude and Camille is above all a love story of the highest romantic order.
    • 4/5
      In the love story, ‘Claude and Camille, the author Stephanie Cowell depicts the lives of Claude Monet and his muse Camille Doncieux in this historical fiction novel. Monet first met Camille as a young woman when he caught a glimpse of her working at her uncle’s bookshop. Thus began a relationship that would span the rest of Camille’s life, when she abandoned a wealthy lifestyle to live in abject poverty at times with her lover Monet. This novel almost read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of famous Impressionist artists, as it frequently mentioned Monet’s friendships with such artists as Manet, Cézanne, Renoir, Pissarro, and Bazille. I was amazed at how these struggling artists would support each other both emotionally and financially, as they struggled to subsist with their families, not yet reaching their pinnacle of success in the art world. I was also struck by Monet’s commitment to his art, even in the face of destitution at times. He was uncompromising, never abandoning his ambition to paint, even when poverty struck. I am amazed that Monet sacrificed so much to establish himself through his art, when recently one of his paintings of the ‘Haystacks’ series sold at Sotheby’s for $110.7, and he is known the world over today.If you love the Impressionist period as I do, I would highly recommend this novel, as it brings to life some of the enchanting paintings of Monet which I’ve had the pleasure to view in museums around the world.
    • 3/5
      The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: A Novel of Monet. Cowell gives us a fictionalized look at the early to middle years of Monet’s career, when he met, wooed and married Camille Doncieux … and painted her in many poses and settings. The novel is told in two time frames, each section being introduced by an early 20th-century Monet, writing from his Givenchy home circa 1908, and then followed by the late 19th-century time period evoked in his memory, starting in 1857 and ending in 1879. The reader learns of his early struggles, his developing relationship with Camille, and with the other young painters who formed the Impressionists movement – Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Bazille, et al. Cowell does a good job of giving the reader a sense of the time and place, as well as the enthusiasm of youth, the passion of working toward one’s dream, the camaraderie of friends, and the safety of a steadfast love. Not to say that all was easy for Claude and Camille. It wasn’t. Their families didn’t approve, their friends were skeptical, their precarious finances made it almost impossible for them to be together for long stretches of time. But Camille’s devotion to Monet did not waiver. All in all, it’s a good work of historical fiction, with a true-life romance at its core. At the end of the book, the author includes some historical notes in which she outlines what is fact, and what is fiction in the novel. She also includes a list of the paintings mentioned in the book, and where the works are currently held.
    • 3/5
      Claude Monet glimpsed Camille Doncieux at a train station and was immediately inspired. Some time later he glimpsed her again behind the counter in a booksellers’s shop. So begins the most tempestuous relationship between the artist and his muse. They both swim against the tide of convention and live their lives according to their own whims and means. As the title suggests this is the story of the artist and his muse/lover. It is a good story, but what makes it even better is the back story. The author’s ability to bring Paris of the period to life. Ms. Cowell’s descriptions of the struggling artists (Manet, Bazille, Renoir, Pissaro, Sisley and Cezanne), their studios, their fights and their talents painted pictures in my imagination. For me, the two main characters waivered between being likable and being intolerable. While never taking away from Monet’s talent and his drive in being part of the group to establish “Impressionsim” I finished this book with a feeling that he might have been someone I would not like very much, but I admired his courage. I have mentioned before that I enjoy books with art as the subject or background and I have never read Ms. Cowell before. My only basis of comparison would be to Susan Vreeland and Ms. Cowell definitely holds her own.
    • 5/5
      Claude Monet knew he didn’t want to walk in his father’s footsteps, he knew there was more to life than being a merchant, he knew in his heart that he wanted to paint. He didn’t know that he would become one of the founding fathers in a school of painting known as Impressionism, didn’t know how steep a hill he would have to climb to reach the summit of his success, that he would be friends with other painters some that would go on to greatness and some that would be lost in obscurity, didn’t know waiting in a train station on his way to the army in Algiers that he would sketch a young distressed girl and that girl would become the most important part of his life and his life’s work.Camille Doncieux knew she didn’t fit into the compartmentalized life her parents wanted for her, she knew she wanted more, she knew she wanted passion. What she didn’t know was what that passion might cost her, she didn’t know how much true love could hurt you as well as heal you, she didn’t know that a chance meeting with a young painter would be a prelude to the love of a man who’s passion would not only equal hers but exceed it. Stephanie Cowell brought to life for me the historically accurate fictionalized story of one of the greatest painters who ever lived and brought it to me with all the pain, the joy and the turbulence in not only his life but the lives of the people around him, the people who meant the most to him and the times in history they went through as well as the history they themselves created. She gave me the inside scoop on the muse behind the man his first wife Camille, what she meant to him, what their love endured and what heartache that love caused both of them. She brought it to me in a narrative that takes me back to the time she’s covering and while the words may never have come out of any of the great master’s mouths, they could have. She showed me a true bohemian lifestyle that these artists lived and breathed and how it cost more than some of them could afford to give. And last but never least she told me one of the greatest love stories of all time in vivid detail so in my mind’s eye I watched as Monet sat in front of his easel and painted Camille.This novel would appeal to any lover of fictionalized history, fans of literary fiction, historical fiction and those of us who love not only a great story but a terrific love story as well.
    • 3/5
      Claude and Camille is about Claude Monet and his first wife (and before that long-time mistress), Camille Doncieux. It begins much earlier in Monet's life, at the point where he first began to paint in oils at the age of 17, and traces the early steps that led him to join forces with the group of painters that became known as the Impressionists. It ends somewhere in the middle of Monet's career, I think, at about the time he was starting to have some success but his finances were still extremely precarious.I enjoyed reading this book, although to me there was a big difference between the middle part of the book and the first and last 50 or so pages. The beginning and end of the novel seemed to have a somewhat documentary tone, perhaps because they were moving faster through the events of Monet's life. The part I really liked was the middle, where Monet was constantly struggling with the tension between remaining true to his artistic vision and providing for his family. I think Cowell brought out well how Monet lived for his art to the point of rejecting all other offers of work and, in effect, to the point where art became a destructive element in his personal life.I got a good sense of Monet's relationships with some of the other Impressionists, which is always interesting as we tend to see these painters studied in isolation with the other characters just dim figures in the background. I did a lot of reading about these people when I was writing a master's thesis on Zola and Henry James, and that whole society of artists, writers and intellectuals holds a fascination for me. In fact I would have liked to have seen more detail and more names, but then I suppose we would have had a different type of novel, and Cowell does a good job of sticking to her main focus, the relationship between Monet and Camille. All in all, it's an entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      While waiting for the train taking him to military training, young and frustrated artist Claude Monet spies a lovely young woman in tears. Captivated by her energy, he sketches her quickly, little realizing that she will one day become his muse and partner. It is several years before he re-encounters her working in a bookshop and manages to convince her to pose for him, thus beginning a whirlwind romance between the two. Camille Doncieux is a young woman of good family, with good prospects, and her parents vehemently disapprove of her relationship with Claude Monet—at that time a penniless artist struggling for recognition while remaining true to his new, and unpopularly revolutionary, painting style. But Camille perserveres in her affection for Claude, becoming his lover, the mother of his child, and, eventually, his wife. It is in many ways a happy life. They are wrapped in the bosom of their friendships—fellow struggling artists Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, Frederic Bazille, Camille Pissaro, Paul Cezanne, and Edgar Degas, among others, share studio space and provide affection and support for each others’ work. However, it is not an easy life for Camille and Claude, despite their great love. Claude is constantly broke and living beyond his means, living on credit, the kindness of friends, and sporadic income from sold paintings. Camille is moody and turbulent at times, frustrated in her own artistic ambitions and crushed under the weight of childcare and long separations from Claude. But their love is so great that they persevere together, with Claude eventually painting Camille’s last moments in a controversial work that is today considered one of his greatest.Touching, and rich with historical detail, Claude & Camille is enjoyable on many levels. Those with an interest in the life of one of Impressionism’s greatest painters will find much to engage their curiosity, as will those with a broader interest in the historical time period and place.
    • 5/5
      When artist Claude Monet sees a young woman in a train station, it’s love at first sight. Fate brings them together and Monet asks the young woman, bourgeoise Camille Doncieux, to be a model for his paintings. She agrees and the two ultimately fall in love. She leaves behind her fiance and her family and runs away with Monet. I know very little about the personal life of Monet. Cowell does an outstanding job of relaying this information via Camille and Monet’s contemporaries, including Renoir, Bazille, and Pissaro. It was enlightening to see the struggle each of these now-famous artists went through to achieve status in the art world. Everyone is familiar with the term “struggling artist.” Cowell portrays just how desperate this struggle was in such a unique and vivid way.One of the many strong characters in this novel was Monet’s good friend, Bazille. Bazille had a tremendous impact on Monet’s success, for he served as both a close confidant and a financial supporter of Monet’s work. Without Bazille, Monet had almost nothing.Camille is another unique and strong character in this novel. She was the muse for several of Monet’s memorable paintings. Their relationship, while based on love, was constantly ridden with financial struggle. Her love for him was obvious, but on several occasions I detected a bit of emotional instability on her part.Monet himself was painted as a sensitive man, extremely dedicated to his passion. He gave up the financial comforts of living with his father to move to Paris to paint. Seeing this side of Monet was tremendously rewarding. Monet was an artistic genius, and seeing his faults and insecurities relayed how “normal” he really was.The strong characters and the relationship between each of them is without a doubt my favorite aspect of this novel. As mentioned, I never truly got an inside look at the life of such an important figure in art. Viewing Monet’s life in this aspect was tremendously rewarding, something I am forever grateful for Cowell for presenting.I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. While the storyline is scattered with bits of history, the relationship between Monet and Camille transforms it into a well-rounded novel. Fans of art and the Impressionist movement would also find great benefit in reading this, as it provides social and emotional background on a very imporant figure in art history.
    • 3/5
      Through Impressionist Claude Monet’s paintings, the world is familiar with the face and form of Camille Doncieux; she is the enigmatic blonde ‘Japanese’ with fans, the striking Woman in Green Dress, the lonely girl with blue parasol atop a hill, and, of course, the patient mother sewing or reading in the garden with her small son.And she is the ‘Camille’ of Stephanie Cowell’s (Marrying Mozart) newest fictional biography, 'Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet.'Cowell’s novel is an imaginative look at their relationship. Monet’s early years are often recounted: his personal and financial struggles, friendship with other young artists (Bazille, Renoir, Pissarro, et al)., and the sacrifices he was willing to make to further that art.But little is actually known about Camille. She and Monet met around 1866 when she modeled in Bazille’s rented green dress for what would become Monet’s first painting accepted for the French exposition. She probably abandoned a fiancé to live with Monet, bearing his first son out of wedlock, then marrying him in 1870. A second son followed and she died in 1879. From these bare bones, Cowell has created a fictive biography for Camille.Cowell’s novel is set within the framework of an older Monet looking back on their relationship and himself wondering who the woman he so often painted really was.The strength of Cowell’s novel lies in her choice of subject matter. The young Impressionists make fascinating reading. In some respects they are the rock stars of the art world. One can’t help wondering how they interacted with each other. Was Monet aware of the sacrifices he was demanding of Camille or was he totally lost in his art? What was her relationship with his friends? Or Alice Hoschede, his mistress and later, his second wife, who nursed Camille through her final illness.Cowell creates an imaginary affair between Camille and one of the painters, which serves to provide much of the dramatic tension of the novel. She also depicts Camille as having a dysfunctional personality. Neither does Camille justice; this, as well as Cowell’s less than inspiring prose style, are my major criticisms of the novel.Three and a half stars. ' Claude and Camille' lacks the drama and vivacity necessary to appeal to many readers of historical fiction and the veracity to appeal to more serious readers.