Susan Vreeland
Susan Vreeland is the internationally known author of art-related historical fiction. Four of her books are New York Times bestsellers.Lisette's List presents one woman's yearning for art at a time when her family's collection of paintings had to be hidden in the south of France from Nazi art thieves. Clara and Mr. Tiffany reveals the talented woman who conceived of and designed the well-loved Tiffany leaded glass lamps. Luncheon of the Boating Party depicts Renoir's masterpiece, the personalities involved in its making, and the joie de vivre of late nineteenth century Paris. Life Studies is a collection of stories of Impressionist painters told by people who knew them, as well as contemporary individuals encountering art in meaningful ways. Girl in Hyacinth Blue traces an alleged Vermeer painting through the centuries. The Passion of Artemisia illuminates Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi. The Forest Lover follows rebel British Columbia painter Emily Carr in her encounters with native peoples and cultures. What Love Sees, tells the love story of a blind couple who refuse to accept limitations. Four of these books have been winners of the Theodor Geisel Award, the highest honor given by the San Diego Book Awards.
Vreeland's novels have been translated into twenty-seven languages, and have frequently been selected as Book Sense Picks. She was a high school English teacher in San Diego for thirty years.
"I applaud your fantastic presentation at Warwick's tonight about The Forest Lover. I so thoroughly loved your dramatic reading/recitations with creative gestures, I wondered if you have considered reading The Forest Lover on audio tapes. You interrelated so well with the audience answering questions and demonstrating the progression of Carr's evolution of portraying trees with her pictures. Your presentation was very informative, instructional about how to write historical novels, culturally enlightening with a growth of appreciation, and spiritually and philosophically inspiring. Your conclusion cannot be surpassed. Thank you so much for all the lives you have touched and will touch. I thought how lucky your students were to have had you as their teacher."
-- Mary F. Templer,
"Susan did a beautiful job weaving the artwork into her story and presentation...She also taught us so much about writing and art. Her former teacher background was excellent. She has an awesome sense of humor. "
-- Julie Farkas, Director, Novi Community Reads Program, Michigan
For more about Susan and her works, go to http://www.susanvreeland.com/
Reviews of Lisette's List
In Lisette's List, by bestselling historical novelist Susan Vreeland, things happen that also amaze and illuminate... Vreeland's love of painters and painting, her meticulous research and the pitch-perfect descriptive talents that distinguished such books as Girl in Hyacinth Blue and Luncheon of the Boating Party are abundantly evident in her new novel.
-- The Washington Post,
The novel's heart is its patient interweaving of sensuous, meticulously observed details with themes of forgiveness, female strength, and survival.
-- Publishers Weekly,
