Author:Guy Goffette
On a cold winter morning in Paris in 1893, Marie, a farmer's daughter from the Midi is helped across a bustling street by a diffident young artist named Pierre Bonnard. When the two finally speak she introduces herself not as Marie, but as Marthe de Méligny, the aristocratic daughter of Italian parents.
Marthe becomes Bonnard's lover and muse for the next fifty years; before he met her there were no nudes in his work but afterwards her body, perched naked above a mirror of water or at her toilette, would dominate his art. Forever Nude is an homage, a love letter, an impassioned, intimate record of the artist - a great friend of Matisse, a great enemy of Picasso - and an extraordinary evocation of the world of both artist and model.
What must be conveyed is the naturalness, the vivacity with which this author writes very particular, extremely personal texts... This book is a fervent homage, subtle and light
—— Le FigaroAs an introduction to this painter's universe, this book has it all - but this is not a biography, nor an essay about art. This is a love letter...offering a thousand places for daydreaming, or for the genius of Bonnard to take wing
—— LireAn intriguingly impressionistic, lyrical little work... It is a dramatic story, and one vividly told
—— Irish TimesHannan is comparable to no playwright working today so much as the Renaissance masters. He has a density of expression, a control of populous scenes, a sense of dramatic development and a sheer verve which few writers, living or dead, can touch
—— Sunday TimesAn action-packed page-turner...riveting
—— Scotland on SundayHannan mixes Mark Twain's yarn capacity with the primal qualities of Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor
—— Big IssueChris Hannan deftly mixes adventure and redemption with the gritty reality of the frontier and flips Wild West assumptions on their behind. Recommended
—— Ladies FirstStands with the best of contemporary historical fiction...you can practically taste the rotgut and feel the sawdust under your boots. Missy is a spectacular debut: the West has never been this wild.
—— http://maxdunbar.wordpress.comTreating ourselves to sex, drugs and murder as we hang the do-not-disturb sign on the door and settle down on the comfiest sofa with playwright Chris Hanna's debut 'Missy' (due out in pb from Vintage). Who knew the Wild West could be so much fun?
—— This Week We’re… , Herald MagazineTaut and credible [dialogue]...I have sat on the judging panels of two novel prizes, and I have to say that this book is far better written than many of the efforts I had to wade through. I would like to congratulate the author on a fine piece of work, and look forward to reading his next offering.
—— Guy Fraser-Sampson , www.pursewarden.blogspot.comSex, drugs and barroom brawls - only an ungrateful reader could want more.' Or 'Missy is a ripsnorting, bawdy success with a wonderfully sympathetic heroine who is a winning mix of worldliness and self-delusion.
—— Colin Waters , The Sunday HeraldNarrated by a classic and irrepressible anti-heroine, Missy is an enjoyable romp through the real Old West...a very impressive debut novel
—— Simon Appleby , www.bookgeeks.co.ukDol is never less than convincing as a character, and has deservedly drawn comparisons with literary predecessors such as Thackeray's Becky Sharp and Defoe's Moll Flanders. Hannan's great skill is to make her both difficult and likeable, and the reader will devour this book in a matter of hours simply to find out what befalls her
—— www.suite101.comStrong and memorable female characters throughout this enjoyable novel
—— http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpack/Described as 'Deadwood meets Moll Flanders', Hannan's story is told by the vivacious, smart, streetwise Dol McQueen'.Another wonderful debut novel...I can't recommend this book highly enough, or Hannan's earthy, vital creation
—— Lesley McDowell , The HeraldBodice-ripping romp through the West
—— TimesMissy by Strong and memorable female characters throughout this enjoyable novel
—— http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpackWitty and effortlessly fluid. His books are laugh-out-loud funny
—— Arabella WeirThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper
—— Hugh LaurieThe greatest comic writer ever
—— Douglas AdamsP.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century
—— Sebastian FaulksSublime comic genius
—— Ben Elton