Just
shortly before the Spanish Civil War breaks out, the English art expert Anthony
Whitelands travels to Madrid for a delicate deal: he is to secretly assess the
value of a nobleman’s collection which the duque intends to sell. On his first
visit he gets to know the leader of the Falange party and stumbles into the
mess the country is in. Caught between his own career interests, the rising
love for the duque’s daughter, Spanish and English authorities and rebellious
groups, Anthony’s life quickly is at stake and he does not know anymore whom to
trust and who to fear.
A very
entertaining story which cleverly combines the world of art with wonderful
descriptions and explanations with the historic events in Spain in the 1930s
and a complicated love affair. What I appreciated most were the passages about
Spanish art, the work of Velazquez and the details on how to detect if a piece
of art is fake or original. The plot turns more and more complicated the further
you read and thus clearly outlines how complex the situation was and which
different forced were at work and mixed up in the triggering of the Civil War.
All in all,
a demanding combination of different aspects, providing insight into Spanish
art and history while narrating a suspenseful
story.
