The Pen and the Brush

by Anka Muhlstein
A look at the link between novelists and painters in nineteenth century French fiction looking at Balzac, Zola and Proust together with Maupassant and Huysmans.
This is a fascinating survey of the painter in the French novel and how the novelist uses their own relationships with painters and painting to influence their writing. I particularly liked the piece on Proust's painter Elstir. Made me want to pick up the book again 8/10