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Warpaint
Warpaint by Alicia Foster is a compelling tale of truth and lies, tragedy and black comedy, loosely based on the lives of four painters of the time.
England, 1942: a dark world of conflict, hardship and subterfuge where information is a matter of life and death and art has become a weapon.
In a gothic villa deep in the woods near Bletchley Park, the 'Black' propaganda team use intelligence to make propaganda designed to demoralise the enemy. For Vivienne Thayer, employed as an artist at the villa, the war has worked out well so far, she has an indulgent husband and a new lover. And while the government quibbles over what cannot be shown officially, at the villa there are no such restrictions - but where does the subterfuge end?
Meanwhile, on the Home Front, three women painters - Laura Knight, Faith Farr and Cecily Browne - have been tasked by the War Artist's Advisory Committee with recording wartime life, brightening the existence of a public starved of culture, and summoning up the bulldog spirit in their art. Together they must battle with the men in power, including Churchill himself, to control the stories that can be told.
As the course of the war turns and the lives of both groups collide, each woman must ask herself what can be revealed and what must be concealed, even from those closest to them.
England, 1942: a dark world of conflict, hardship and subterfuge where information is a matter of life and death and art has become a weapon.
In a gothic villa deep in the woods near Bletchley Park, the 'Black' propaganda team use intelligence to make propaganda designed to demoralise the enemy. For Vivienne Thayer, employed as an artist at the villa, the war has worked out well so far, she has an indulgent husband and a new lover. And while the government quibbles over what cannot be shown officially, at the villa there are no such restrictions - but where does the subterfuge end?
Meanwhile, on the Home Front, three women painters - Laura Knight, Faith Farr and Cecily Browne - have been tasked by the War Artist's Advisory Committee with recording wartime life, brightening the existence of a public starved of culture, and summoning up the bulldog spirit in their art. Together they must battle with the men in power, including Churchill himself, to control the stories that can be told.
As the course of the war turns and the lives of both groups collide, each woman must ask herself what can be revealed and what must be concealed, even from those closest to them.
249 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2013
4 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Alicia Foster
20 books6 followersAlicia Foster grew up in Yorkshire and lives in Kent. She has a PhD in Art History and when she's not writing herself, she teaches art students. Warpaint is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 25, 2013
I love well-observed, well written historical fiction and I like it even better if there are truths behind that fiction. This book ticked all my boxes. The pace was great, I couldn't put it down, in fact. The strong female characters were wonderful- I hope they make the film! Can't wait until this authors next book.
September 13, 2013
Warpaint is a historical fiction book based around the time of WW2, but instead of focusing on the men at war, Warpaint introduces to four women, each a really well written, strong female character.
Starting at Bletchley Park, we meet Vivienne, a part of 'Black', a team that uses propaganda to attempt to distract the opposition. Embroiled in an affair with a German who is now trying to help the opposition, Vivienne has to try and figure out if all is as it seems at Black's headquarters.
The other three female characters are soon introduced, three artists who are hired by the WA AC to make uplifting momento's of the wartimes goings on to boost the morale of the country. All three of these women live very different lives - Laura, an older lady finding her everyday life mundane and wants to tackle something more challenging, Cecily, a young woman from a well off family whose fiancé is away at war, and Faith, on the run from her husband with his secrets in in fear of him finding her.
I really enjoyed the fact that I wasn't reading one story, but four, and yet they all came together at the end to bring it back to one story. I did find myself preferring one or two of the women's stories more than the others, and for me this then made the book feel like it was slowed down, and I found myself rushing through some of the chapters as I felt they were long drawn out and I just wanted to find my way back to some of the more exciting storylines.
Throughout the book, not all the characters are fictional, and some of them were actual historical figures, which gave the book more meaning as you know some of the people were real, or the events really happened, and it gave the book an edge, something to think about. I even found myself doing some research on some of the bits and pieces that I read to understand them even more. The mix of fiction and non fiction was done really well and created a very interesting story to read.
I did enjoy Warpaint, I just felt there were a few slow parts, especially in the middle, that made it slightly hard to read, especially if this isn't the kind of book you would usually go for, but the characters and the ending of the book really made up for it.
Starting at Bletchley Park, we meet Vivienne, a part of 'Black', a team that uses propaganda to attempt to distract the opposition. Embroiled in an affair with a German who is now trying to help the opposition, Vivienne has to try and figure out if all is as it seems at Black's headquarters.
The other three female characters are soon introduced, three artists who are hired by the WA AC to make uplifting momento's of the wartimes goings on to boost the morale of the country. All three of these women live very different lives - Laura, an older lady finding her everyday life mundane and wants to tackle something more challenging, Cecily, a young woman from a well off family whose fiancé is away at war, and Faith, on the run from her husband with his secrets in in fear of him finding her.
I really enjoyed the fact that I wasn't reading one story, but four, and yet they all came together at the end to bring it back to one story. I did find myself preferring one or two of the women's stories more than the others, and for me this then made the book feel like it was slowed down, and I found myself rushing through some of the chapters as I felt they were long drawn out and I just wanted to find my way back to some of the more exciting storylines.
Throughout the book, not all the characters are fictional, and some of them were actual historical figures, which gave the book more meaning as you know some of the people were real, or the events really happened, and it gave the book an edge, something to think about. I even found myself doing some research on some of the bits and pieces that I read to understand them even more. The mix of fiction and non fiction was done really well and created a very interesting story to read.
I did enjoy Warpaint, I just felt there were a few slow parts, especially in the middle, that made it slightly hard to read, especially if this isn't the kind of book you would usually go for, but the characters and the ending of the book really made up for it.
August 3, 2016
Worthy, but I just couldn't get into this one. Characters didn't grab me, plot didn't grab me, and half way through I realized I had zero interest in finding out what happened. So I stopped reading. It's rare for me to do that with a book. Sorry.
February 5, 2026
I found this to be a very likeable book. This is a thriller inspired by real events with almost no overt violence except as second hand reportage or as a result of a war time action. Having drawn on her knowledge of the London art scene from before and during WWII, Foster's characterisation of the women artists supporting the war effort is gentle and inexorable.
These women personify growing inner strength without the usual macho heroics that inevitably lace war time (or any kind of) thrillers, and succeeding each in her own way within the social women-stifling milieu of the UK at the time. Thank you Alicia Foster, I hope you write more fiction.
These women personify growing inner strength without the usual macho heroics that inevitably lace war time (or any kind of) thrillers, and succeeding each in her own way within the social women-stifling milieu of the UK at the time. Thank you Alicia Foster, I hope you write more fiction.
June 1, 2017
A new perspective
A yarn about art and war with a new slant. If you want to know more about the history of these women and their activities read another book. Good on character short on plot until near the end. Recommend imperial war museum web site where you can see many of the paintings which the author so clearly describes.
A yarn about art and war with a new slant. If you want to know more about the history of these women and their activities read another book. Good on character short on plot until near the end. Recommend imperial war museum web site where you can see many of the paintings which the author so clearly describes.
June 15, 2017
This novel provides an interesting view of two aspects of WWII propaganda efforts by the British. Set in 1942 the story revolves around three female painters tasked with creating artistic works that would boost morale. Another British artist paints “black” works that are used to demoralize the German people. I knew little about these programs and enjoyed reading the book.
January 11, 2021
Interesting fictionalised account of woman artists in WW2. Based on real people explaining the difficulties the women had in getting interesting subjects to paint.
Each artist has a separate story but intertwined with a story of a secret establishment set up to send false propaganda into Germany and an undercover traitor, cleverly brought together at the end.
Each artist has a separate story but intertwined with a story of a secret establishment set up to send false propaganda into Germany and an undercover traitor, cleverly brought together at the end.
February 26, 2021
Ending picked up but nothing exciting happened. And too many names and half way though I knew the plot twist
October 2, 2022
Nice writing and interesting but a bit boring
June 9, 2014
This book did not really grip me - I don't know why it was described as a thriller.
Read
October 1, 2017This is a good fun light read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews