Conversation on the Quai Voltaire
Lee Langley
Collector, adventurer and artist, Vivant Denon was a youthful courtier at Versailles; he lived through the French Revolution, and galloped across Egypt with Bonaparte. A skilled survivor, he knew everyone and found world fame without seeking it, risking his life and happiness in an endless quest, a love affair with art.
Taking a real historical figure, his extraordinary life, his passions, his friendship with Napoleon and the Venetian contessa who was Denon's great love, Lee Langley has created a rich canvas that captures the dying grandeur of Venice, Robespierre's terror, the battle of the Nile and a dazzling liaison ... Read more , alongside a tender love story. With wit and imaginative invention, she brings to life a tumultuous period and a fascinating man.
Living in his shadow is Baptiste, his servant, watching as his master, ever closer to Napoleon, fills the Louvre museum with treasures looted from the enemies of France. Denon's private life is also open to the valet's watchful eye. And he too has hopes. And secrets.
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About Lee Langley
Reviews for Conversation on the Quai Voltaire
Moira Jeffrey
Glasgow Herald
An absorbing read
Sophie Harrison
Sunday Times
The novelist's own passion for and dedication to her subject translates into an easy - and enjoyable - historical romp
Jennifer Potter
Times Literary Supplement
A novel of compelling power. Her habitually ... Read more