The Crimson Portrait

Jody Shields

Jan 2007 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Josephine Bailey

About this audiobook

This haunting love story-the magnificent new historical novel by the author of the national bestseller The Fig Eater-makes unforgettably real the ravages of love and war. Spring 1915. On a sprawling country estate not far from London, a young woman mourns her husband, fallen on a distant battlefield. The eerie stillness in which she grieves is abruptly shattered as her home is transformed into a bustling military hospital. Recoiling from the chaos, unhinged by grief, the young widow finds unexpected refuge in a tender young soldier whose face, concealed by bandages, she cannot see. Their affair takes a fateful turn when she confronts-and seizes upon-the opportunity to remake her lover in the image of her lost husband. The Crimson Portrait is a novel of glittering surfaces that belie dark truths. Its rich cast comes into focus as the novel peels back layers of suspense and intrigue to illuminate the abiding mysteries of affinity and desire. "Shields's writing weaves dark mythical symbolism with matter-of-fact medical nitty-gritty to reveal what happens when class, ignorance, hopefulness and despair coalesce."-Publishers Weekly "Lovely writing..."-Kirkus

About the author

Jody Shields is a former design editor of the New York Times Magazine and the author of All That Glitters and A Stylish History, as well as several screenplays.

British actress and narrator Josephine Bailey has won ten AudioFile Earphones Awards and a prestigious Audie Award, and Publishers Weekly named her Best Female Narrator in 2002.