The Lady with the Dark Hair

By: Erin Bartels

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

A charismatic man with a legacy that long outlives him. A forgotten woman whose fate is forever tied to his. And the family whose history is still being written. Toulouse, France—1879 Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France.

It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells pigments to artists. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella’s sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playing in order to hide her identity have far-reaching implications she never could have foreseen.

East Lansing, Michigan—Present Day Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella’s greatest work—a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair.

This dual-timeline story from award-winning author Erin Bartels takes you on a captivating journey across time and continents, where past and present converge in a relentless search for truth, identity, and the freedom to follow one’s dreams.

©2024 Erin Bartels (P)2024 Recorded Books

Disappointed with ending

I was totally engaged in this story, but the closer I got to finding out how the past and the present connected, the more disappointed I got. The author seems to be making a statement that there is no purpose in romance and praises women's independence. I personally believe women can be strong and romantic at the same time. I'm not a huge romance fan, but I thought the male characters in the book were cheated and undermined. The voices were well done by the narrator, and that was the book's saving grace.

Fabulous all around!

I have loved every Erin Bartels book I have read (which is all but one, but I plan to read it soon). This is now definitely in my top 2 from her!

I will be honest and say that at first, upon learning it was about artists, I was not sure it would be my jam. I know very little about art, so I was afraid I just wouldn’t “get it” or be bored.

The truth is that Erin Bartels is such a fantastic storyteller that it was about so much more than that. I was never bored. And I never felt like the art talk was too pretentious or that it was even the sole focus.

As always, I enjoyed the dual timeline of 1880 and present day, but Viviana’s story (1880’s) was by far my favorite.

This narrator was fantastic, especially in her pronunciation of French names and terms.