The Cassatt Sisters: A Novel of Love and Art

by Lisa Groen

In 1877, the Paris art scene is very competitive for men but nearly impossible for thirty-three-year-old Mary Cassatt, an American woman. Bored by traditional methods of painting, she admires the work of avant-garde painters, especially Edgar Degas. So, when Edgar visits Mary's studio to view her paintings, she is exhilarated by his invitation to join him, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and other Impressionists in the collective.

Meeting the standards of the Impressionists is nerve-racking. Mary is judged not only as a painter but as a woman. She takes comfort in her close bond with her sister, Lydia, who often poses for her. But Mary's growing attraction to Edgar threatens to derail the plans Mary and Lydia have made for their future. When an opportunity arises to work side by side with Edgar, Mary begins a clandestine love affair that utterly upends her life and career.

In The Cassatt Sisters, author Lisa Groen paints a dazzling picture of Belle Époque Paris and the extraordinary life of artist Mary Cassatt during her time with the Impressionists. At the heart of this compelling historical novel is an age-old question: What must a woman sacrifice to live a life of freedom and accomplishment?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Art

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2025

About the author

Lisa Groen loved getting to know Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt in her first historical novel THE CASSATT SISTERS, coming in October 2025. She is author of THE MOTHER'S BOOK OF WELL-BEING, a book of essays for new moms. Lisa's writing also appears in the textbook THE FOURTH GENRE: Contemporary Writers of Creative Nonfiction.

Lisa holds an MFA in writing from The Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing. She lives in Utah and shares city and mountain homes with her husband and their dog, George Harrison. They have a blended family of five adult children and one grandchild.

⭐️ Early Reviews for THE CASSATT SISTERS:

"The Cassatt Sisters is hard to put down, intensely revealing, and a work of art itself.”
- Midwest Book Review

"A well-crafted portrait of two famous artists, their suffering, and their joys."
- Kirkus Reviews

🖋️ Follow Lisa to learn more.
https://substack.com/@lisagroen
https://facebook.com/lisagroenwriter/
https://instagram.com/lisagroenwriter

Reviews

[Jann Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Groen’s The Cassatt Sisters is a fully immersive visit to the sights, sounds, and smells of an Impressionist painting in 19th-century Paris. So visual is Groen’s storytelling of the untold relationship between the long-underrated painter, Mary Cassatt, and her favorite subject, her sister Lydia, I longed to walk among them with the more famous painters who admired her. Cassatt’s troubled relationship with Edgar Degas, and her support from Impressionists Camille Pissarro, Gustave Caillebotte, Claude Monet, are illustrated in color with their paintings and offer a rich record in this poignantly-told story of sisterhood and love. A must-read for anyone who knows little of, or who adores, the Impressionist artists.

[Joan Donaldson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as Mary Cassatt painted domestic scenes between a mother and children, or a young woman at the Opera, Lisa Groen has given readers an intimate look at the relationship between two sisters. One a rising star within the Impressionist community, and the other, a sister who grieves her fiancé’s death. Set in France during the period when the Impressionist artists were renegades, Mary is determined to make her living as an artist. She must prove her talents while assuaging her father’s repeated requests to marry and adapt to a more acceptable female role.
While readers may first view Lydia as the quiet supportive sister who knits in the garden and plans the family’s meals, she proves as tenacious as Mary. Lydia understands how to appease their parents while helping Mary with simple acts such as arriving at Mary’s studio with fresh bread, cheese, and fruit. As the novel progresses, Mary comprehends how Lydia serves as her muse. When her sister is ill, dust gathers on Mary’s easel as she dedicates herself to healing Lydia.
Readers will recognize the names of numerous Impressionist from Monet, to Camille Pissarro, to Manet. But Edgar Degas pulls Mary into an affair that reveals inner desires that she did not recognize in herself. Those emotions stimulate in Mary a greater appreciation of what Lydia lost, and how her sister has dedicated herself to advancing Mary’s artistic successes.
My favorite scenes in the novel involved the Impressionists discussion about their work and the moments showing the sisters deep love for each other and how that love motivated Mary. Readers who love historical fiction will revel in the storytelling of Lisa Groen as she captures the passion of the Impressionists and the two amazing Cassatt sisters.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been captivated by Mary Cassatt’s paintings for many years. When I saw that Lisa Groen had crafted a historical fiction novel about her life, I was keen to read it. many familiar artists are presented in the story with Mary Cassatt, including impressionist painters in Paris during this decade of La Belle Epoque.

It is An emotional story of Mary, her sister Lydia and their parents in Paris as Mary paints her way through this world from 1877 to 1886. The primary theme throughout the whole book is, as the title suggests,love and Art. I understand so much more about the Artist’s journey in this framework of life.

The sad and heart rendering death of Lydia endeared this reader to the book through its emotional impact, to appreciate even more the fact that Lydia was often the one who sat as Mary’s subject. Lydia and Mary‘s last lucid conversation before her death brought me to tears. “I thought I had to be immortalizing your painting of legacy”. “I realize every breath is an opportunity to be immortal.”

This is a wonderfully composed love story —sisterly love, family love, parental love, through sheer realism of Mary’s paintings: beautiful children with mothers which has been so sorely ignored by the art community throughout the millennia. Groen paints a Mary Cassett who brings us into a touching rendition of our mothering lives.

[Catherine Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel has the magical, delicious ability to completely transport the reader. Without excessive or flowery language, the author paints the reader into the Cassatt family homes, artists' studios, opera loges, countryside scenes and - most memorably - the fantastical parties thrown by another notable female impressionist, Berthe Morisot.

I especially love the way the author captures the intimacy of family life - the dynamic between parents and their adult children, the unspoken understandings between sisters, the tenderness among family members when one is suffering, the daily rhythms of home.

The author also explores the relationships among artists that most of us more pedantic humans don't experience, characterized by admiration, encouragement, competition and artistic connection - the relationships between Mary Cassatt and her contemporaries explore all of these.

What I think I enjoyed the most was the novel's exploration of love in all of its forms: romantic, familial, maternal, artistic and compassionate.

I hope you lose yourself in this beautifully crafted novel just as I did.

[Deb Kiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great debut historical fiction story about Mary Cassatt and her time with the other Impressionists. Set in France in the late 1800s, it tells about Mary's experiences with Lydia, her sister whom modeled for her extensively, Edgar Degas, her colleague and lover, and a plethora of other famous painters from Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet. As a long time admirer of Impressionist art, I so enjoyed reading about the lives of these famous painters and the imagined discussions. Mary had the typical challenges for women when she was constantly bombarded with questions about her ambition versus having a husband and family. She was a strong character and had such a deep desire to paint regardless of comments by Degas and others. The story was well researched and the Author Notes explain what liberties the author took.
If you are a fan of art, strong women, and charming storytelling, I highly recommend this book. I rated this 4.5 stars.
#TheCassattSisters #BlackRoseWriting #NetGalley
Thank you Black Rose Writing and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Gayle Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful love story lights up Groen's first fictional novel, THE CASSATT SISTERS. Art enthusiasts and non-art enthusiasts alike will get lost in the beauty of the words, the paintings, and the bond between Lydia and Mary Cassatt. From the first page to the last, the reader is plunged into a world crafted so beautifully, I couldn’t tell what fact from fiction. The story unfolded before my eyes, written with such sophistication that I was instantly transported to Paris. If you're seeking a narrative about love that extends beyond romance and into the realm of familial ties, your search ends here. This is a debut novelist you don’t want to miss. I can’t wait to see what Groen creates next.

[Peter Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The front door closed quietly enough. I took off my shoes and tiptoed over the floors in my stocking feet, making my way to my bedroom without waking even the cat. I lit the candle on a nightstand by the window and watched the flame flicker to life. My books appeared, and a cold cup of tea Lydia must have left for me. How strange the walls of my room seemed then, as though they had changed instead of me. Was this love? The thin floral stripes of the wallpaper, and the deep red drapery suspended over the window, the faint streetlight outside. The night sky seemed different as well — more familiar. I pulled the curtains closed.

[P.L. Jonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Feast for the Senses
Lisa Groen’s writing transported me to the painting studio of Mary Cassat as if I were watching over her shoulder as she sketched her subjects, selected the colors, and made each stroke on the canvas. Groen’s eloquent prose put me right there amid the 1870s Paris art world: the sights, the sounds, and the smells. Cassatt, Degas, Pissarro, and Morisot were all fully developed characterizations of the actual artists. I felt like I met them and attended the delightful Parisian parties.

I knew about the rumors that Cassatt and Degas had an intimate relationship beyond their art endeavors. And had read Cassatt, had destroyed all of her correspondence between them and her personal journals and diaries before her death. This act alone opens the door to interpreting their relationship, and I think Lisa Groen did an excellent job in her fictionalized account. At least, it rang true for me.

I usually read multiple books simultaneously, but once I started reading The Cassatt Sisters, it was the only book I wanted to read until I was done. A truly immersive experience. A must read.

[Heather Zoe]

This story is both colorful and full of allure. Lisa Groen paints a world of impressions and anticipations that invite us into the very energy of her characters who seem to come alive on the page. The luminous artistry of Lisa's voice carries us to the heart of the relationships that unfold, making it very hard to put down.

[Elise Schiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book! While I'm quite familiar with Cassatt's work, I knew less about her life among the Impressionists in Paris and her close relationship with her sister. Now I know how many of her paintings I've seen featuring Lydia and other members of her family. It was interesting to discover how many concerns of a working painter are similar to the concerns of a working writer.

[Amanda Forsting · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating journey into the studios where artists work and the social and familial circles where they draw inspiration. Groen uses masterful scenes to create tension between Cassatt and Degas while exploring the complicated bonds of sisterhood, and where these bonds might lead us.

[Wendi E. Sloane · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an artist who loves art history, I enjoyed immersing myself in the mid to late 19th century Parisian art scene. I also had a lovely email exchange with the author, who was so gracious. I was interested in reading about the impediments women faced (and still do).

[Charlotte Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

What a joy to wrap myself around the art and life of Mary and Lydia. I have always admired Mary Cassatt’s paintings and now I love them even more.

[N.J. Mastro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cassatt Sisters by Lisa Groen reveals to readers the inner life of painter Mary Cassatt during her rise to prominence as an American artist living in Paris in the latter part of the 19th century.

The novel is justly titled. At Mary’s side throughout is her only sister, Lydia, a constant whom Mary depends on more than she realizes. Lydia often sits as a model for Mary, who has thrown her lot in with the so-called Impressionists, artists defying the Paris Salon’s preference for traditional painting. And she is Mary’s closest confidante. Mary’s parents have also joined her in the City of Light and, like Lydia, feature heavily in Mary’s narration.

The story references a mix of impressionist artists beyond family, most notably Edgar Degas, who plays a leading role. Groen bases the plot in part on a rumored love affair between Mary and Degas. As the novel opens, Mary is smitten by the handsome Degas before she even meets him. His art and reputation as a fellow avant-garde precede him, and she is quickly swept up in his charm. Soon, however, Mary must decide not only what kind of artist she wants to be but whether she wants to entangle herself with a man, especially one like Degas. Degas has secrets.

There are many things to love about The Cassatt Sisters, among them the famous artists that emerge in Mary’s first-person narration as she paints her way to success. Besides Degas, Camille Pissarro is a frequent figure, someone Mary grows close to as a friend, along with Berthe Morisot. Other name dropping occurs—Manet, Monet, Caillebotte, to name but a few—all in a delightfully gossipy way.

The novel isn’t just about art. Groen paints a vivid picture of the settings as well—art, architecture, streets, opera halls, galleries, and restaurants all come to life. The lush sensory detail doesn’t end there. We can almost taste the food the characters nosh on, almost smell the sumptuous feasts they partake of, and almost inhale the intense scent of brilliant flower gardens.

Supporting Mary’s story in an even deeper manner, however, is the visual presentation of her paintings directly on the pages of the story, in color in the eBook, black and white in the paperback. I absolutely treasured this aspect of the novel. Not only did seeing the art in the text save me time having to look the paintings up online (I’m one of those who do that), it enabled me to stay fully present in Mary’s world without interruption.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Cassatt Sisters. The entire novel is a feast. Don’t miss it!

(Thank you to the author for an advance reader copy.)

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few weeks ago at the Flint Institute of Arts I saw Mary Cassatt’s painting of her sister Lydia working on a tapestry. This week, I saw The Cassatt Sisters and I knew I had to read it.

It was a delight to spend a few hours in Belle Epoque Paris amongst the outsider artist group labeled the Impressionists. Their art broke the rules, not only in their style of painting by also by their subjects, ordinary men and women and every day life. Rejected by the Salon, the artists bonded together to present their work in their own shows.

The Impressionists? Well, if you insist on calling us that. I consider myself a realist. But the newspapers have given us the vile name, and I believe we’re stuck with it. from The Cassatt Sisters

American artist Mary Cassatt went to Paris to continue her art studies, accompanied by her sister Lydia. Mary was impressed by the work of Edgar Degas. He became her mentor, inviting her to show with the Impressionists. She becomes friends with the painter Berthe Morisot, married to Eugene Manet’s brother, and Manet’s model. Camille Pissarro becomes another close friend.

Lisa Groen imagines the growing friendship between Edgar and Mary. He has much to teach her and she is elated by his attention. Edgar sidetracks her into creating etchings for a magazine, and their relationship blossoms into a love affair.

Mary never wanted marriage and a traditional life, and neither did Edgar, a known womanizer. But their love scares him off. He sabotages their relationship. At least Mary has her sister, her model and best friend, but whose failing health concerns her.

Degas disappears from Mary’s life, but finally returns to renew their friendship. His new work, Little Dancer, Age Fourteen, scandalizes society.

Mary is successful, her paintings in demand. Some of the Impressionists decamp, including Sisley, Cezanne, and Renoir, and return to the Salon. The movement was no longer avant-garde compared to rising artists like Seuret and Gauguin.

The relationship between the sisters is beautifully written. Lydia lost her true love during the Civil War and accepts the role of supporting her sister’s career. The paintings are included in the novel, and it is wonderful to see a young, blooming Lydia at the opera.

I have long favored the Impressionists and enjoyed their work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Flint Institute of Arts.

I enjoyed this book for it’s setting in history, as the story of an artist’s life, for the romance, and the portrait of a loving family. A win-win for all readers.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

[HalKid2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE CASSATT SISTERS: A NOVEL OF LOVE AND ART (full title) is a debut novel from author Lisa Groen about the life of painter Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926) and her close relationship with her older sister, Lydia. Lydia is Mary's main source of emotional support. This is also the story of the revolutionary art scene in Paris in the second half of the 19th century. Artists like Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Gustave Caillebotte, Edouard Manet, and Marie Bracquemond were breaking away from the traditional arbiter of good art, the Paris Salon, and developing the School of Impressionism.

Though originally from Philadelphia, Mary, Lydia and their parents relocate to Paris to support Mary in developing her art, despite pressure to follow the more conventional path of marriage and motherhood and despite the difficulties of being a woman trying to find acceptance in the predominantly male art scene. Fortunately, Mary is accepted by the renegade Impressionists, begins to attract admirers, and finds success selling her paintings. She soon carves out her own niche (what she is known for today) - painting common domestic scenes (especially those with mothers and children) that bring attention to a subject most male artists deemed unworthy.

As she explains in the Author's Note, Groen builds her novel around what is factually known about Mary's life, and like most writers of historical fiction, adds her own conjecture. One big addition is an important romance, which is suspected by many, but historically UN-verified.

The book's title is a tiny bit misleading. This is Mary's story. She is the narrator. Her sister Lydia is definitely a supporting figure.

Personally, I did not find Mary's story particularly compelling. While her emotional turmoil was certainly described, the author never made me feel emotionally involved. I always felt somehow distant. I did enjoy learning more about what was involved in the origins of the Impressionist Movement and how these noted artists lived and worked before they became famous. Also, about the influential role art critics played and the limited avenues available in the 1800s to artists who wanted to display their art.

One of the things I found most interesting was the universality of the issues facing Mary. She turns out to be yet another woman struggling to balance her work with her domestic responsibilities. Especially because she winds up being chief caretaker for her sister who is often ill.

If these sound like topics of interest to you, I definitely recommend THE CASSATT SISTERS: A NOVEL OF LOVE AND ART.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Cassatt, 33, lives in Paris. She always wanted to be an artist from the time she was little. Her parents, who live in Pennsylvania, want her to marry and have a family. But this is not Mary’s plan. Her older sister, Lydia, lost her fiancé in the war and has no interest in seeking another man. She is content to be her sister’s supporter. Lydia often sits for Mary for her to paint her.

Mary meets Edgar Degas whom she admires very much. He loves her artwork and while he disdains the new Impressionists push, he agrees to follow. He works to get Mary involved with his group and they all welcome her and love her art. Mary and Edgar are drawn to one another but both remain single during their lives because their art is their life.

We follow Mary and her claim to fame as she becomes part of the close group Impressionist painters of this time period. Mary’s sister, Lydia, was her dearest friend in her life. Lydia’s patience and grace as depicted in this book is extraordinary. What a wonderful woman.

Oh my goodness, I so loved this book and it was written in real time which makes the reader feel as one with the artists. During my many years living in Paris, visiting the Impressionists museums was my favorite pastime. I love all of them and have prints and needlepoint copies of many of their paintings throughout my home. Don’t miss this book. It is beautifully written. Enjoy!

[RedReviews4You Susan-Dara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to win a copy of this book from Goodreads—and it absolutely did not disappoint!

Mary Cassatt has long been one of my favorite painters. Her work has the power to transport me, placing me right in the heart of her scenes. Her impressionist style, her visual storytelling, and her focus on domestic life through a woman’s lens have captivated me ever since I gave my mom a Mother’s Day card featuring one of her paintings years ago.

So the chance to learn more about Cassatt’s life and the events that shaped her artistic vision? I couldn’t wait. And Lisa Groen’s novel delivered beautifully.

This book swept me into Cassatt’s world—into the excitement of the Belle Époque, into salons and studios, and even into the orbit of Edgar Degas at the height of his creativity. I had no idea about Cassatt’s connection to Degas but thinking back to her art I can see the shared connection. But to wonder if their connection was more...that detail alone opens the door to so much speculation, and Groen handles it with nuance and imagination, leaving us with a breadcrumb trail of historical intrigue.

The Cassatt Sisters is a finely crafted, emotionally resonant novel that blends art history, sisterhood, and the quiet power of creative vision. I felt like I was living inside a painting—and I didn’t want to leave.

[Kathryn E Hagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know little about art or artists, but “The Cassatt Sisters” by Lisa Groen hooked me from the beginning. The sisters are American painter Mary and bereaved Lydia, whose fiancé had been killed in the American Civil War.

Mary believes she needs to relocate to Paris to further her career, and she does it (and takes Lydia with her)! I thought this was an extremely gutsy move for nineteenth-century women. I don’t think they knew that their parents would later move to Paris as well, and the four would live together as they had in Pennsylvania.

Groen incorporates details about Mary’s career and the famous painters she meets throughout her life. Mary has a particular friendship with Edgar Degas, whose paintings of ballerinas are known to many. Other artists included are Berthe Merisot, Camille Pissarro, Edouard Manet, and Auguste Renoir.

May Alcott, Parisian painter and sister of American author Louisa May Alcott, is also mentioned in “The Cassatt Sisters.” If you haven’t read “The Other Alcott: A Novel” by Elise Hooper, you would probably enjoy it as well. May Alcott is known as the inspiration for Amy March in “Little Women.”

“The Cassatt Sisters” was so enjoyable. I had trouble putting it down and wanted more when I’d finished it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of art history books, and biographies of impressionist artists over the years. As someone who studied art history, it is always encouraged to imagine the world of artists past as if it were in the present, trying to relate their lives to our contemporary ones in order to bring history to life. So, I found it really lovely to read a novel that took moments of art history and pieced them together in such a wonderful way to extend a well recorded history of Impressionism into another realm. While you must read this as a novel and not a history book, as the author admits that lots of parts are imagined (though based on extensive research) I found it really refreshing to read the story of the Cassatt family this way. What I think this book also did well was historically situate the happenings of the plot within history by peppering in other historical references of the time. For example, mentioning novelists such as Zola and poets such as Whitman helped situate the timeframe very well. What I also enjoyed was that the focus of this novel was not all about the romantic love story. While it is in fact part of the plot, it does not overtake it to rewrite historical fact -which was nice to see. Overall if you're an art history fan and want to read something other than biographies to bring the world of the Impressionists to life, then why not pick up this book?

[Mrs Malgorzata · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light novel about sisterly love but also about two great artists and their art

As per its title, it's a book about the Cassatt sisters and their close bond, but for me it is rather about the romance between Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas.

A mix of facts and more or less plausible fiction, an imaginary - as we don't know whether it really happened - love story, an impossible love, between two great artists in the greatest city of the world in the second part of the 19th century.

Where it's a little thin in substance, it charms you with its depictions of the artistic environment and family life and relationships within Cassatt family, especially between the two sisters.

I've long wanted to read about Mary Cassatt, having seen some of her paintings and studied other Impressionists, especially Berthe Morisot, and this novel - found by pure coincidence - gave me the opportunity to sort off enter into their world and see it through Mary's eyes and made me even more interested in her and in her work.
I very much appreciated that the book comprises the images of Mary's paintings within the story - it makes it so much easier for the reader to link the text with the actual works of art.

A light, quick, pleasant read about a remarkable but not very well known Artist.

[Ruth Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading The Cassatt Sisters is like spending a day in your favorite museum browsing the Impressionist galleries—or traveling back in time to France’s Belle Epoque to immerse yourself in the creativity, culture, and cuisine of that incomparable era. Author Lisa Groen paints a vivid picture of all this, and more.

The subtitle of this book is “A Novel of Love and Art”—and it’s appropriate that the word “love” comes first. Not content just to give us an art history lesson (though Groen treats us to a fascinating one), the author delivers a moving exploration of the many kinds of love we experience in life: enduring love, sexual love, platonic love, and familial love, especially the unique bond that can exist between sisters. It adds up to a satisfying read both emotionally and intellectually. I adored this book and didn’t want it to end!
-Ruth F. Stevens, award-winning author of My Year of Casual Acquaintances

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cassatt Sisters is a captivating immersion into the heart of Belle Époque Paris, where art, ambition, and the quiet tension of womanhood intertwine. Lisa Groen reimagines the life of Mary Cassatt, not merely as an artist in the shadow of Degas and Monet, but as a woman contending with the constraints of her era while chasing the freedom to create on her own terms.

Groen writes with the confidence of a historian and the sensitivity of a portraitist. Each scene breathes with color and atmosphere, evoking the flicker of gaslight on canvas and the ache of choices made for art and love. Through Mary’s bond with her sister Lydia and her fraught relationship with Degas, Groen reveals the emotional cost of creative brilliance in a world unwilling to yield space for women.

It’s both an intimate story and a sweeping meditation on identity, artistry, and sacrifice. A novel like this doesn’t just revisit history, it restores the voices that helped shape it.

[R Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a real eye opener. Dressed up as a novel, it is also a serious reflection on two comparatively little known historical figures, Mary Cassatt and her sister Lydia. Mary was a hugely talented artist who put to one side the traditional role of a wealthy daughter to marry and bear children for the sake of pursuing her career as an artist. She was supported by her family and most notably her older sister who became her companion for many years. She had lost her fiancé in the American civil war. Mary became a successful impressionist painter at the time of Degas and Pissarro who both mentored her, yet struggled to get the same recognition because she was a woman. The book makes the point that thinking artistic talent is conditional upon gender is ridiculous yet Mary had to fight continually for appropriate representation. It was great to see Mary profiled and I hope this book becomes widely read to increase appreciation of her art.

[Janis Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew of Mary Cassatt’s work and even referenced her in the opening of my novel, The Unlocked Path: “Did she view another scene? Perhaps Mary Cassatt’s latest painting? A mother caressing her child with cleansing love.” Lisa Groen’s The Cassatt Sisters provided me with a well-written and intimate portrait of Cassatt’s life as one of the few women invited into the Impressionists’ circle.
A luminous debut, it transports readers to 19th-century Paris, where Mary Cassatt’s artistic rise unfolds. Rather than offering a dry historical account, Groen paints a story as rich and layered as the Impressionist canvases it celebrates.

One of the novel’s most rewarding features is the inclusion of color reproductions of the paintings referenced throughout. Being able to see the very works that inspired or reflected moments in the story deepens the experience and keeps readers fully immersed in Cassatt’s world. As Mary herself observes: “Time disappeared. My attention mixed with colors as I shaped scenes, form, and light. Something mysterious lies beneath art.” That sense of an emotional connection to art infuses every page.

Groen captures not only the artistic ferment of the Impressionist circle—Degas, Monet, Pissarro—but also her deep and sustaining bond with her sister and often model, Lydia, whose presence guides the narrative. Their love and sacrifice give the novel a heart, which pulses through every page.

Perfect for book clubs, The Cassatt Sisters offers discussion points on women in art, sisterhood, creativity, and the blurred lines of history and fiction. Immersive, moving, and visually stunning, Groen’s debut masterfully strokes the imagination while also educating readers about important women from history. Watch for The Cassatt Sisters on my 2026 #31titleswomeninhistory list.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The Cassatt Sisters’ transports you to the light-filled streets of Paris during a period where romance and art swirled. Lisa Groen’s novel is well researched and accurately depicts le belle epoque while providing an enthralling story of love, friendship, and family relations. The bond between the Cassatt sisters is beautifully written and provides a steady backdrop to the mercurial relationships between Mary and the Impressionists. Hard to put down - this novel is a tribute to the artist and her family!

[Linda Rosen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Groen paints an intimate portrait of the 1877 Parisian art scene. She draws us into the tumultuous, clandestine love affair between Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas while sprinkling in Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, and other wonderful Impressionists to fill out an engaging story. The author poses the age- What must a woman sacrifice to live a life of freedom and accomplishment? After reading The Cassatt Sisters, you’ll want to visit a museum to view Cassatt’s paintings with her soft colors and loose brushwork, as gorgeous as Groen’s novel.

[Karen George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed Lisa Groen's novel THE CASSATT SISTERS. Reading it, I felt immersed in the late 1870's Paris world of artist Mary Cassatt and her sister Lydia, along with Edgar Degas and other Impressionist artists such as Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir. The characters, the settings, the dialogue, and the scenes were intriguing and realistic, pulling me in with its emotional intensity. I couldn't stop reading, but I never wanted it to end.

[Wayne A Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story of the Cassatt sisters. Mary the artist and her older sister. Usually when I read a book about an artist I need their coffee table book with it so I can see the art along with the story, but this book has the pictures in the novel as you read. Such a good story about the Impressionist movement. I enjoyed it a lot and hope Lisa writes another soon

[Margie]

I’m firmly in the camp that seriously doubts there was a romance between Cassatt and Degas. The guy was a practically a predator.

The love between sisters was well done though. I enjoyed the book but would have liked more painting and less “visiting.” Cassatt was first and foremost a dedicated professional who lived and breathed for her art.