Girl Braiding Her Hair: Inspired by the true story of a revolutionary female artist history forgot (Light & Life Series Book 2)
She was an innocent..until she met Renoir.
The greatest artists in Paris never suspected that their favorite model was learning their techniques while she was posing for them. Art schools didn’t accept female students, but Suzanne Valadon knew how to fight for what she wanted. By the time she was 15, she’d been a horse walker, a funeral wreath maker, and a circus acrobat.
This is the story of a survivor.
Emotionally gripping and poignant, a book to make you cry one minute and laugh out loud the next.
EDITOR’S CHOICE, BookLife Review “A rousing novel of visionary women a century apart, entwined by the love of art.”
“…filled with drive and emotion…Marta writes so vividly that I felt like I was participating in the adventure.” Lin Swens
“I loved the characters, wanted to be neighbors of theirs…wanted to applaud their talents…” C. Cain
Recommended Book Club read!
“This insightful, rich-in-detail novel pays welcome homage to women artists of all eras and the time-crossing power of art as Suzanne, in one urgent, illuminating moment, declares, “I want people to hear a whisper when they look at my art. We were here”.” BookLife Review
From the Publisher
ASIN : B0CP33LVRV
Publisher : Marta Molnar
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : December 15, 2023
Language : English
File size : 1.6 MB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 406 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1940627632
Page Flip : Enabled
Book 2 of 3 : Light & Life Series
Best Sellers Rank: #17,335 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #22 in Historical Biographical Fiction #30 in Biographical & Autofiction Fiction eBooks #59 in Biographical & Autofiction
Customer Reviews: 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (4,612) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Original price was: $1,615.27.$838.55Current price is: $838.55.
13 reviews for Girl Braiding Her Hair: Inspired by the true story of a revolutionary female artist history forgot (Light & Life Series Book 2)
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Original price was: $1,615.27.$838.55Current price is: $838.55.
Grace-V. Faubion Huedo –
Captivating Tale of Two Women in Two Distinct Periods
Marta Molnar weaves a captivating tale that bridges two distinct periods through the lives of two remarkable women. The novel alternates between the experiences of Ellie, a modern American young widow grappling with life, and Suzanne, an artist, muse, and model during the French Impressionist period. Molnar’s narrative prowess shines as she deftly explores the intersections of their lives, showing how their stories, though separated by time, echo and illuminate each other. The author’s vivid descriptions and deep character development make both women’s journeys incredibly poignant and impactful. “Girl Braiding Her Hair” is a compelling read that beautifully examines themes of resilience, identity, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. Highly recommended for its rich storytelling and emotional depth!
andrea –
Love reading about strong and resilient women
Historical fiction has always been my favorite and so I’ve really enjoyed this twist that includes a focus on artists during that time period in Paris when the masters were up and coming. I especially loved learning about a long forgotten woman artist from that time period. I enjoy the dual plots as well. This is the second book I’ve read written by Marta Molnar and I look forward to reading more!
DadOf2Boys –
Uplifting and inspiring
This book is wonderful to read. It has a lot of helpful comments that are truly uplifting and inspiring. It shows that sometimes family and life are not what you plan but what you end up building yourself.I really enjoyed it. Thank you
Florene K. –
Great Read
Loved this book. Learning about Suzanne Valadon was very enlightening and inspiring. The two stories of the two women who lived over a hundred years apart were interesting and relatable. I recommend this book to those interested in historical women and art.
Amazon Customer –
you made a great story of a great Artist
I check the artist, as I went to art school and did not learn about her, and for this matter not any of the other female artists! So when I checked out her history and many bodies of work I enjoyed reading your book, you made a great story of reality into a very interesting story! I’m so glad I did not come from that era. The hardship and rejection must have been devastating!
WriteNow –
Like reading a Hallmark Movie.
If you like Hallmark Movies, you’ll like this book – or at least half of it. The other half of the book, which was set in the past, was more interesting but the characters spoke with a contemporary vocabulary. I kept wanting the book to be better. I was genuinely interested in the female artist, which is why I bought the book.
Susan –
Suzanne Valadon’s life is quite the story!
I got this book because despite all the art history I’ve studied over the years, I realized I knew very little about many of the women artists. I knew of Suzanne Valadon’s art but no idea how she went from model to artist or how well regarded she was in her time.I very much enjoyed both the structure and content of this book. The story starts off fast (no lengthy exposition) which I like and is well researched. I enjoyed hearing how Valadon was connected to the people of her time, the characterizations of familiar artists and how she went from model to artist. Quite the life she lead!I also enjoyed her fictional story of Ellie and the connection of her dreams and personal growth to Valadon’s life.I read this story in a day, the only thing slowing me down was my curiosity about the paintings she mentions in the story and my compulsion to Google them as I read.Highly recommend this book
Shoshanah –
From model of Renoir to 1st female artist accepted into The Society National des Beaux-Arts🎨
Loved this book as much as her first one! Intriguing story of a woman who was born into shame and poverty who found a way to fulfill her dreams of becoming a great artist. Once again, Marta Molnar blends a modern story with a historical one through blending the lives of the artist, Suzanne Valadon with Ellie who discovers her and builds a new life for herself through Suzanne’s own struggles. Beautifully written and an interesting read that will have you looking up paintings and artists that are mentioned! Can’t wait for her next historical fiction💝
Siobhan D –
I was fully immersed in the parallel stories, but was particularly engaged with the journey of Suzanne’s life, another great read from Marta Molnar, looking forward to the next book!
marianne g. –
This book is beautifully written, has a compelling narrative and memorable characters. I could hardly put it down once I started to read it!! I enjoyed this book thoroughly and I know I will read it again many times. Also, the book itself as an object is beautiful: the feel of it in the hands, the cover art, the paper, the font size, the layout – everything about it is extremely attractive.
Gemma Wiseman –
‘Girl Braiding Her Hair’ is not a girly kinda story. There is a fine range of various male characters to attract male readers. But undeniably, the subject is an amazing 19th century female artist, trodden underfoot over time in the Degas, Renoir paternal society. Her story becomes a thread in Ellie’s life. Ellie yearns to re-establish the honourable identity of forgotten female artists and, in particular, the one born in a tenement context, without the moneyed privilege of some who sought training first. 19th century Suzanne Valedon and modern Ellie are great role models of how to step beyond social limits. It is not impossible. A great read.
Carol Denehy –
This story is one that grabs you but I felt ultimately let down. While keeping you guessing about how the two female leads will end up through nine tenths of the book, it suddenly collapses in sweet goo in the end. Everything ends up perfectly and everyone walks into the sunset hand in hand. The other nine tenths are gripping and you really hope that things will work out. I was just disappointed that it all was resolved in a couple of pages.
Sue S –
A novelised tale of French artist Suzanne Valdon, intertwined with a modern day story of a woman coping with grief and life problems. Their stories bounce off each other and we see the strength of women through the centuries. A feel-good book with the bonus of learning real history of a talented, forgotten female artist.