Mrs Whistler

by Matthew Plampin

‘A captivating tale …This novel is a delight’ THE TIMES




‘A terrific novel … It springs off the page’ DEBORAH MOGGACH




'Vividly engaging’ SUNDAY TIMES




‘Maud could tell the whole story, but she will not’



Chelsea 1876: Jimmy Whistler stands on the cusp of fame, ready to astound the London art world with his radical paintings. At his side is Maud Franklin, his muse, lover and occasional pupil, sharing his house, his dazzling social life and his grand hopes for the future.


But Jimmy’s rebelliousness comes at a heavy price for them both as he battles a furious patron, challenges an influential and viciously hostile critic and struggles with a dire lack of cash. Before long a fight for survival is being waged through the galleries, the drawing rooms and even the courts – and Maud, Jimmy’s Madame and closest ally, is expected to do her part.


The Madame has problems of her own, however. Maud has fallen pregnant, and must now face the reality of what life with Jimmy entails. As the situation starts to unravel, as loyalties are sorely tested and bankruptcy looms, she has to decide what she wants. Who she is. What she is prepared to endure.


Stunning and suspenseful, this a story of one woman’s progress through a world of beauty and sacrifice, art and ambition; a story which asks what we will withstand for love, and what it means to reach for greatness.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Art

465 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 3, 2018

About the author

Matthew Plampin was born in 1975 and grew up in Essex. He read English and History of Art at the University of Birmingham and then completed a PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. He now lectures on nineteenth-century art and architecture.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on actual events, Mrs Whistler is the story of artist James MacNeill Whistler, a man so convinced of his own genius that he embarks on an ill-advised libel action against art critic, John Ruskin, who has been less than complimentary about his work, falls out with the wealthy and influential Frederick Leyland over a room known as 'The Peacock Room' he has been commissioned to decorate, and is gulled by individuals he thought were friends but who turn out to be anything but. It's a story of hubris in which you feel all along that things are not going to turn out well although, to a certain extent, you do have to admire someone whose overwhelming self-confidence enables them to view what anyone else would see as a disaster as a mere temporary setback. I'm afraid that was the only thing I found to admire about the James Whistler revealed in the book. Sure, he's good company and hosts lavish parties but mostly using other people's money. And he is completely self-centred. 'Jim was not known for his perceptiveness when it came to the thoughts and feelings of others...' Too right.

There's really only one 'official' Mrs Whistler in the book, James' mother, the subject of probably his most famous painting. Maud, the young woman who starts off as his model, then his muse and then his lover, never achieves that status. Maud has artistic talent of her own but is destined to remain in Whistler's shadow, supporting him through one scrape after another, enduring the penury that follows the outcome of his disastrous libel action and putting up with his moods. 'When in the dumps, he was but a husk - a despondent child, a tired old man.' Time and again, I found myself thinking, 'Maud why on earth are you with this man?' particularly when she is forced to make an unbearably sad decision on not just one, but two occasions purely so Whistler's artistic life can continue unimpeded.

It's Maud who finally puts two and two together and discovers just how ruthlessly Whistler has been manipulated - and betrayed - by a person he thought his closest friend (although I suspect most readers will have had their doubts about them from early on).

The reader gets a fascinating insight into the artistic community of the period with walk-on parts for artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones. There's even an appearance towards the end of the book by Oscar Wilde (described as 'a fleshy, rather flamboyant young Irishman') who of course also embarked on an ill-fated libel action.

In the author's Historical Note he references the biography of Whistler written by American art critic Elizabeth Pennell and her husband Joseph, published in 1911. He describes how, whilst writing the book, they felt certain details about Whistler's life were missing. However, although Maud was still alive, she refused to talk to the Pennells. As they described it: ‘Maud could tell the whole story, but she will not.‘ Mrs Whistler is Matthew Plampin's very engaging attempt to fill in the gaps in that story.

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

‘Who is Maud Franklin?

Model.

Muse.

Mother.

And expected to play her part.’

Mrs Whistler is a novel by art historian and author Matthew Plampin. Published on 3rd May 2018 by The Borough Press, it is described as ‘stunning and suspenseful, a story of one woman’s progress through a world of beauty and sacrifice, art and ambition; a story which asks what we will withstand for love, and what it means to reach for greatness.’

I have no knowledge of the art world so I knew that this would be a rather unconventional read for me but that’s one of the many reasons I love to blog…it encourages me to read outside of my normal genre.

I must mention immediately how absolutely stunning the cover of Mrs Whistler is. I nearly hugged it when I opened the packaging. A thing of beauty!!

Based on the fact that the author, Matthew Plampin, lectures on nineteenth-century art and architecture, it should be no surprise that the main protagonist of the novel is based on the life of an artist, that of James Abbott McNeill Whistler and his muse Maud Franklin. Also known as Jimmy Whistler, he was an American born artist who travelled to Paris to study art and to follow his dreams.

Mrs Whistler focuses in on his years spent in the UK with Maud Franklin, his mistress and his muse. Maud was English born and her relationship with Whistler was fraught with tension and intense drama. His treatment toward Maud was quite harsh, yet she remained with him through some very tough years. Children were never on the cards for the pair and when Maud discovered she was pregnant, she was terrified he would leave her. He didn’t but she did have to hand her child over to a foster family to be reared by a different woman. Maud knew that her life with Jimmy Whistler was not one that welcomed the intrusion and disturbance that children would bring so she sacrificed any chance of motherhood and remained loyal by his side. Maud Franklin quite simply loved Jimmy Whistler but his treatment toward her was most certainly not deserving of her love.

In researching for his novel, Matthew Plampin, had difficulties in piecing together the life of Maud Franklin. In his own words ‘Maud’s experience is a striking gap in a history that is elsewhere immensely detailed, albeit filled with contradictions and inconsistencies. My manipulations are largely those of focus, various minor spats and skirmishes having being omitted or consigned to the edges of the narrative’ Using his own expertise as a historian and his skill as a writer, he created Mrs Whistler, wrapping it’s story around factual details of a man who became known in the art world as a proponent of ‘art for art’s sake’

Jimmy Whistler famously sued the leading art critic of the Victorian era, John Ruskin, for libel. The book delves into some of the details of the case, as Whistler gathers his troops and challenges the competency of a man famous for his artistic intellect and experience. Maud Franklin is supportive of Whistler’s claim and stands by his side through the trial, even though they are basically paupers at this stage living off the generosity of others.

Mrs Whistler is a novel combining fact and fiction, giving the reader a little insight into a time of tumultuous change. James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Maud Franklin had two children together, both babies fostered out. Their relationship was too fraught with emotion and intensity to last. With the excessive lifestyle and the squandering of any money that came their way, it was a relationship doomed to fail.

Matthew Plampin offered me a peek into a world that I have no knowledge of. I have no doubt that there are many who might disagree with what has been written or who might dispute certain facts but for a complete art novice like me it was quite a fascinating read. At times I did struggle with the content but that really is down to my own ignorance of the subject. Definitely not an easy read and certainly not a book that I would consider mainstream but a book that I am very glad to have read. If I ever find myself in a situation where I am in the company of an artist I can speak a little of James Abbott McNeill Whistler and that can only be a good thing!!

Curious. Interesting. Passionate.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slow start but good once it got going. An insight into the 19th century art world.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel about the American artist James McNeill Whistler and his model and mistress, Maud Franklin, the ‘Mrs Whistler‘ of the title. I’m familiar with some of his paintings, his Nocturnes and the portrait of his mother, Arrangement in Grey and Black, known as Whistler’s Mother, but knew nothing about his private life. He was painting at the same time as the Impressionists at the end of the nineteenth century and some of his paintings seem to me to be similar in style to their work, but I think he is above all an individual, standing on his own. I love his signature, a stylised butterfly based on his initials, that heads up some of the chapters in Mrs Whistler.

The book covers two episodes in their lives during the years 1876 to 1880 – a bitter feud with his patron Francis Leyland about his fee for painting The Peacock Room, and the libel trial in which Whistler sued the art critic John Ruskin, over a review that dismissed him as a fraud. Ruskin had criticised Whistler’s Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, accusing him of asking for ‘two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.’ These two events brought Whistler to the point of bankruptcy.

And interwoven is the story of Maud and her relationship with Whistler. Maud, as the title indicates, is the main character, on the borders of society she is not only his model, but also the mother of two of his children – both fostered at birth. Alongside these two are Whistler’s so-called friend, the flamboyant and duplicitous Charles Augustus Howell, known as Owl, and Howell’s mistress Rosa Corder.

It’s a good story, albeit a long one, that moves quite slowly through these four years. I loved all the detail – of Whistler’s impetuous and rebellious character, his relationship with his brother and mother (the real Mrs Whistler), as well as with Maud – and the details of the house he had built in London on Tite Street in Chelsea, which he called the White House, his flight to Venice and most of all about his paintings.

In his Author’s Note Matthew Plampin lists the books he consulted in writing his novel and referenced the online archive of Whistler’s correspondence at the University of Glasgow, which he used, as he puts it, for ‘many of this novel’s best lines.‘He explains that there are gaps in the records – notably about Maud. The American art critic Elizabeth Pennell and her husband Joseph had compiled a biography of Whistler in 1903, but they found that certain details were elusive. They had questions about Howell, about the saga of The Peacock Room and about Maud. Maud was still alive at the time but refused to talk to the Pennells, as they described it: ‘Maud could tell the whole story, but she will not.‘ Plampin’s fictionalised biography fills in some of the gaps in the story, imagining what Maud thought and how she coped with Whistler’s behaviour and attitude towards her and especially about how she felt about her daughters, living with their foster family.

Many thanks to the publishers, The Borough Press for my review copy via NetGalley.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew very little about the artist James Whistler before reading this book but after reading it I have learned that his picture Whistler's Mother is not the true name of the painting; his mother lived for a time in Hastings, East Sussex, only 5 miles from where I live and that I would not have liked the man. I felt every sympathy for his long suffering mistress Maudie but he was a self-centred, misogynist and she should have deserted him. My lack of sympathy for Whistler is possibly why I only gave the book 3 stars. The book would have benefitted from some coloured plates showing the paintings that were referred to in the book.

[Maya Panika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Matthew Plampin’s work since I first read The Street Philosopher and his usual slow style is evident in Mrs Whistler. The hit is far from immediate, it takes a little getting into. For the first few chapters, when nothing of note is happening, and you’re wondering if you should press on with it, imperceptibly, the characters slip under your skin and suddenly, this slow burning book seems to catch fire - but never with drama or contrived literary tricks, just an extraordinary grasp of character, a marvellous ear for conversation and an intimate knowledge of humanity’s foibles.
Mrs Whistler concerns the relationship between the artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Maud Franklin, his lover and muse. Real characters, real events, but an almost entirely imaginary story. In notes at the end of the novel, Plampin gives us a little the inspiration for and background to, the story and admits that almost nothing is known about the real Maud Franklin Though the two were long separated and Maud re-married to a wealthy American and living in France, she refused to speak about the past, saying ’everything she knew of those days would die with her.’
As in so many accounts of relationships between a (usually male) artist and his wife/lover(s), the artist comes across as entirely selfish, self-obsessed. The woman puts up with it, staying for reasons of security, or love. Maud is such a sad, lonely figure, with one foot in the insecurity and misery of her poverty-stricken upbringing, the other resting uneasily in the apparent security and luxury of life with Whistler and his friends, and the pretentious and venal art world - and a house based on sand, on credit and illusory dreams of sudden success, sudden release from the shadows of debt and disgrace.
Maud puts up with such a lot, not least the enforced removal of two beloved children because Whistler ‘was an artist, not a father. He was not given to paternal things’. Whistler’s occasional snobbery about his working-class muse, keeping her away from his sponsors and his less bohemian friends also grates on her sensibilities over time, as does his complete indifference to her own artistic ambitions. Why did she stay with him? You do feel she loves him, though much of the time her feelings don’t seem reciprocated in any way. After two pregnancies, her looks are already fading; she knows she will be replaced. It’s a sad tale of a series of slow unravellings - of fortune and money, of reputation, of friendships and trust and love and as always from this author, perfectly pitched and wonderfully written.

[Jeff Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Matthew Plampin's previous novels, The Street Philosopher, The Devil's Acre, Illumination, Will and Tom, with real delight in a writer of historical fiction that knew his subject and could weave a story with characters that had touch and feel and prose that captured the time yet allowed a 21st Century reader inside.

Mrs Whistler is no different. The writer's knowledge of the world of art is a crucial background for the story of this famous American painter, told through the pain of Maud, his young partner who he did not marry yet bore him two daughters (that they fostered from birth).

It is hard to know whether James Whistler was a great artist from the novel or simply someone whose delight in his own fame created the market for his work. This fame was partly inspired by his inability with money, his inability to see the truth in people, his desire to show people how wonderful he was. That Maud could suffer such an individual must have been testimony to his ability to convey some spirit but this was not easy to see. Frankly, James Whistler appeared ill-equipped for life and those close to him must have been continuously uneasy with their relationship.

The short postscript on James and Maud show that success was not complete for either of them. The novel leads us in that direction where no-one seems to prosper despite their efforts.

[Karen Mace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 4 of my 20 books of summer 2023.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the cover! it's a stunner!! And the story is an intriguing one too, based on real people, the artist James Whistler, in the late 1800's and looks at his relationship with Maud, his muse and often too loyal for her own good considering what she has to put up with from him! he's not the nicest of guys but she's smitten.

As an artist he's talented but has a very over inflated opinion of himself, and always talking himself in to trouble - delusions of grandeur spring to mind when I think of him! The author at the end of the book gives more background to the author, and it's been fascinating to find out more about someone I knew very little about.

IN this book it's a constant case of chasing their tails, she's always running around after him and his ways - she even gives up her children to foster families as he doesn't want kids! It always amazes me why she stayed!! You can really grasp the sense of her not knowing what's best for herself so seems she sticks with him for the 'security' or should that be drama! It gives a real good insight to the times and the fickle art world so was interesting in that point. The storyline just felt a little flat at times as the same thing kept happening!

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The topic interests me, since I like Whistler's work and his beautiful Peacock Room. The cover of this book, with its gold leaf and florid lettering, is one of the prettiest that I have ever seen. It really is gorgeous, even in paperback format! However, the story fell flat for me after about a hundred pages; I felt the novel was really repetitive and lacking in forward motion: Maud was incessantly angry, sick, and depressed, Whistler continually was condescending and evasive, bailiffs were hounding the couple, and Frederick Leyland was a constant oppressor. Simply put, the story is too long and the characters lack sufficient depth due to this repetition. There were only a handful of interesting and engaging parts of the book, including Whistler's witty retorts on the stand during the trial against Ruskin.

I found the Author's Note at the end to be more interesting than the novel. I think if I had found this note that at the beginning of the book, instead of the end, I think I mentally would have been prepared better for 400+ pages of mostly doom and gloom.

[Keith Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nocturne in black and gold

Matthew Plampin, always an interesting and inventive author, has constructed a solution to a number of the mysteries surrounding the bankruptcy of the artist James Whistler in the late 1890s. Weaving through real people and genuine events, Plampin creates a plausible account of how Whistler’s quarrel with his erstwhile patron, ship owner Frederick Leyland, almost destroyed the artist. Into the web are woven Whistler’s Peacock Room, art critic John Ruskin, the celebrated Whistler – Ruskin libel case, and Whistler’s so-called friend and ally, the fraud and scoundrel Charles Augustus Howell. Observing everything is Whistler’s model and muse and mother of two of his children, ‘Mrs Whistler’, Maud Franklin, who could tell the whole story, but chooses not to.

The narrative begins in the middle of things; stick with it, even if you find Whistler himself (in Leyland’s words) ‘an insufferable ass’ – the story is a really good one.

[A J HOOPER · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding account of supreme egoist American painter James McNeill Whistler from the point of view of his long suffering mistress Maud Franklin. The man was such an egoist he sounds psychopathic. Maud was forced to give up her daughters for fostering because babies didn't accord with the artistic life. In spite of being perpetually broke, Whistler commissioned a new build, the White House in Tite Street and unsurprisingly only lived there for a year since his creditors seized his assets including the house. The brilliance of this book is that Whistler is painted as so overblown and yet you, the reader, retain affection, even some admiration for the man. Not to mention yards of sympathy for Maud.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fascinating glimpse into a short period in the life of the American artist James McNeil Whistler. I confess I knew him only as the painter of a portrait of his mother and had no knowledge of his life in London. Mrs Whistler covers the period between 1876 and 1880 and is told largely from the perspective of his 'Madame' - his muse and Mistress Maud Franklin. This was a tempestuous period in Whistlers life where he is battling creditors and takes part in a trail for damages against the writer John Ruskin.
It took a while to get into this book and I confess to skim reading at times but over all I enjoyed the insight into this colourful character and found myself feeling sorry for the much put upon Maud.

[John Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Matthew Plampin, the latest, and the review of which intrigued me enough to read the previous novel. This one is TOO long: if we keep saying it, do you think publishers and editors will get the message, and persuade, or intimidate, authors into being less prolix. The story didn't need it, and more attention to some of the characters wouldn't have come amiss. Unlike in the previous volume, I didn't feel that any other than Maud and Jimmie came out fully formed, and even then Maud was rather shadowy. Don't need to read any more of these.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and illuminating fictional account of Whistler's years in London, focussing largely on his muse Maud Franklin and her plight. (How she put up with Whistler I really can’t understand!) Very little is known about Maud and Plampin does an excellent job in recreating her life and thoughts without stretching the reader’s credulity. The balance between fact and fiction is excellently maintained throughout and I found the novel a real page-turner. Highly recommended.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a fascinating view of the artists life (fictionalised, of course, but interesting none the less, with obvious research put into bits of it). I wasn't very familiar with Whistler's work before picking up the book, having only heard of him in passing (if I've seen any of his paintings in person, I haven't remembered it). I picked up the book without realising it was based upon real people. It's got me more interested in the paintings, even if the written portrait of the artist is not entirely flattering.

[Adam]

I loved this book. Told from the perspective of Maud, the mistress of a major American artist of the 19th Century, this story had me hooked from the start. Matthew Plampin brings a fresh and vivid evocation of Victorian London which provides the backdrop for a brilliantly realised novel, one that skilfully binds real events and characters in a story that keeps you gripped to the end and lingers long after you have turned the final page.

[Bathsheba Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cleverly mixing fiction with facts. Humanized Whistler for me and had me spending hours go ogling him and his art work. I'm still not a fan of his "art" as many of the people in Plampin's book but I do appreciate a little more his story and how he suffered for it ....and more importantly his family.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty grim story. A period of the artist James MacNeill Whistler's life from the point of view of his then model/mistress Maud. The basic facts are there but, as Maud later refused to comment on her time with Jimmy, it is fictionalized. A few illustrations of Whistler's work would not have gone amiss.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn’t get two stars because of the writer, but more because of the un-likeable , gullible characters. Mr Whistlers blind ambition at the expense of much going on around him was too irritating for me.

[Lauraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the American painter James Whistler and his unfortunate muse Maud Franklin. As with all artists, Whistler was completely at the mercy of his patrons, and art critics, including his famous libel suit against John Ruskin which didn't bear the result Whistler desired.

[Phyllida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got the impression from this book that Whistler would not have been easy to live with. Maud's story is almost more interesting than his. I always like a book that makes me want to look up the protagonists to find put more. This book does that.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me I'm afraid. It's well written, but I don't like to read descriptions of pictures, I want to see them. So I went to Wikipedia and ending up reading the entries there in an hour or so and then the book was superfluous as it didn't add anything else afaics, just padded it out.

[Vickie Taylor-Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing about Whistler so this was a really interesting read. Maud was a very likeable character and I felt sorry that she had such a hard life at times. Worth a read even if you aren’t interested in art.

[Anne Nobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a relaxing pleasurable way to learn about the world of Victorian art.

[Liz Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't really do it for me, although I was interested in the subject matter - artists, women's lives, history. Well written too. Somehow I just wasn't engaged.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable.

[Caroline Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a DELIGHT. Gloriously done historical fiction. Thoroughly enjoyed, highly recommend.

[Joie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skipped to the end because the story became so cringey

[Lisa of Hopewell]

I learned of this book via this post: https://whatcathyreadnext.co.uk/2023/...

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

whinging upper-class british people caught up in an artistic scandal over shitty paintings.