THE OPTIKAL ILLUSION by Rachel Halliburton shortlisted for HWA Debut Crown
Many congratulations to Rachel Halliburton whose debut novel The Optikal Illusion (Duckworth/Overlook) is one of six titles shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown for best debut historical novel, 2018. The winners will be announced in London in autumn 2018.
‘An assured and enjoyable debut that asks some uncomfortable questions about women’s erasure from the history of art’ —The Times
‘Written with a detail and often a lyricism that makes me go back and reread for the pleasure of it. I am drawn into the history and vibrancy of colour as never before. I see more intensely, and that is a great gift to have been given’ —Anne Perry, international bestselling author of the Monk and Pitt series
‘A most intriguing tale of how the world of high art was convulsed by deceit, desire and delusion’ Victoria Glendinning
‘A remarkable true story of vanity and delusion, which Halliburton turns into a gripping and only partly fictional whodunnit… brings the artists and their art to colourful life and brushes in streaks of feminism, via Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as dark shadows of the French Revolution’ John Spurling, winner of the Walter Scott prize for Historical Fiction for The Ten Thousand Things
‘As if stepping into the frame a sensual, intricate and richly textured painting. The novel is a fine achievement by a serious and talented writer’ Weny Wallace, author of The Painted Bridge
‘Utterly absorbing… Halliburton builds up the layers of deception, ambition and scandal into a shimmering, fully textured portrait of Georgian London with all its gloss, dross, glamour and corruption’ Imogen Robertson, author of Instruments of Darkness
‘The descriptive language is rich with colours and patterns, creating what are basically miniature landscapes… an absorbing story with lively characters and an unconventional female lead’ —Nudge Books