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A Likeness
A wonderful, rich, absorbing historical novel following the fortunes of a struggling artist around the courtly world of Elizabethan London.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 5, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 24, 2018
Really enjoyed this historical fiction. Recommend for those who like, Tudor England, court capers, Tudor painting.
February 1, 2021
A 2.5
There are lots of pros and cons to this novel.
On the plus side in the main it's well written, and the story is unusual - it sort of reads as if it's going to be an intelligent historical romance, but the romance is of the most unusual, unfulfilled kind and can't easily be described. The protagonist and his muse have such an odd relationship that she dies for the love of him, having allowed him to paint with noxious substances upon her body and become addicted to them. The language is well thought out, and echoes what might actually have been said, and it's clearly well researched.
On the negative side I felt absolutely no empathy towards any of the characters, they are all written at a distance, and it's hard to feel for them. Even the death of the Rob, the painter protagonists, wife in the first few pages is at distance, and too artfully described to feel real. I cannot feel why Kat should be so in love with him, and give so much for so little forthcoming from him. It just doesn't feel real.
And then there is my personal loathing of the novelist speeding up so much that their writing style changes entirely. A slow carefully described novel at the start, becomes speeder up slew of quick fire information towards the end.
A poor, unecessary epilogue finishes off Rob's tale when it could just have been left at the fire, with his riches disappearing in the funeral pyre of his house.
So for me too many negatives on balance.
There are lots of pros and cons to this novel.
On the plus side in the main it's well written, and the story is unusual - it sort of reads as if it's going to be an intelligent historical romance, but the romance is of the most unusual, unfulfilled kind and can't easily be described. The protagonist and his muse have such an odd relationship that she dies for the love of him, having allowed him to paint with noxious substances upon her body and become addicted to them. The language is well thought out, and echoes what might actually have been said, and it's clearly well researched.
On the negative side I felt absolutely no empathy towards any of the characters, they are all written at a distance, and it's hard to feel for them. Even the death of the Rob, the painter protagonists, wife in the first few pages is at distance, and too artfully described to feel real. I cannot feel why Kat should be so in love with him, and give so much for so little forthcoming from him. It just doesn't feel real.
And then there is my personal loathing of the novelist speeding up so much that their writing style changes entirely. A slow carefully described novel at the start, becomes speeder up slew of quick fire information towards the end.
A poor, unecessary epilogue finishes off Rob's tale when it could just have been left at the fire, with his riches disappearing in the funeral pyre of his house.
So for me too many negatives on balance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2017
It's obvious that the author put a huge amount of effort into researching for this novel - perhaps too much. She had even taken the trouble to write in Elizabethan language. I'm not expert enough to know whether it was accurate - but even if it was, I think it was a bad idea. It made the story hard work to read.
My big problem with the story, however, was the main character. I felt as though he was a device to tell the history and nothing more. I never really got to like him, or care about what happened to him. As for his liaison with the prostitute - weird. They didn't have sex. Instead, she liked him to paint on her skin. That concept never really convinced me and towards the end, I realised that it was another device to create a dramatic finish. The wonderful potion (which
My big problem with the story, however, was the main character. I felt as though he was a device to tell the history and nothing more. I never really got to like him, or care about what happened to him. As for his liaison with the prostitute - weird. They didn't have sex. Instead, she liked him to paint on her skin. That concept never really convinced me and towards the end, I realised that it was another device to create a dramatic finish. The wonderful potion (which
June 6, 2022
Cool language but otherwise unremarkable
January 16, 2025
A generous two star, cos I am on holiday. Hard to read and goes nowhere forever.
September 9, 2014
Amazing! I'd give "A Likeness" 10 stars if I could. I found Sonia Overall's writing style completely absorbing - although obviously I don't really know how people talked in the Elizabethan era, the language and dialogue used in "A Likeness" felt really, really authentic to me, it absolutely pulled me in and even though it took me a chapter or two to really get used to the way the story was written, once I did, it was such a rewarding experience. I genuinely felt like I was there with the characters.
"A Likeness" tells the story of Rob, an aspiring painter who is determined to paint only 'the truth' of what he sees (even though this sometimes gets him into trouble!) and who moves to London to make a name for himself in the art world. Whilst in London Rob becomes involved with a courtesan called Kat who immediately falls for him. For some reason though, Rob can't bring himself to sleep with Kat, so they come to a compromise - Kat wants him and his paints, and given that he can't bring himself to have sex with her, Rob offers her the next best thing he has - he paints all over her body, giving her pleasure with the strokes of his brush. (That looks and sounds really weird when I describe it here, but it's incredibly erotic and sensual in the book, honestly!) In return, Kat hooks Rob up with wealthy, influential men of the court who want their likenesses painting, and the pair have a little racket going, earning them loads of money and fame. It's not long though before things start to go wrong, and we see just how dangerous and corrupting pride and ambition can be.
One thing I thought was incredibly well done in this novel was the fact that there was a real sense of progression throughout the story - it felt really realistic the way certain characters would drop in and drop out of Rob's life, and the way the characters changed and altered - not always for the better. Rob and Kat weren't exactly likeable characters, but they did make you curious to find out what would happen to them, which strangely meant you were actually rooting for them to make it out of things okay.
I really, really recommend this story! I feel a little bit lost now I've finished it!
"A Likeness" tells the story of Rob, an aspiring painter who is determined to paint only 'the truth' of what he sees (even though this sometimes gets him into trouble!) and who moves to London to make a name for himself in the art world. Whilst in London Rob becomes involved with a courtesan called Kat who immediately falls for him. For some reason though, Rob can't bring himself to sleep with Kat, so they come to a compromise - Kat wants him and his paints, and given that he can't bring himself to have sex with her, Rob offers her the next best thing he has - he paints all over her body, giving her pleasure with the strokes of his brush. (That looks and sounds really weird when I describe it here, but it's incredibly erotic and sensual in the book, honestly!) In return, Kat hooks Rob up with wealthy, influential men of the court who want their likenesses painting, and the pair have a little racket going, earning them loads of money and fame. It's not long though before things start to go wrong, and we see just how dangerous and corrupting pride and ambition can be.
One thing I thought was incredibly well done in this novel was the fact that there was a real sense of progression throughout the story - it felt really realistic the way certain characters would drop in and drop out of Rob's life, and the way the characters changed and altered - not always for the better. Rob and Kat weren't exactly likeable characters, but they did make you curious to find out what would happen to them, which strangely meant you were actually rooting for them to make it out of things okay.
I really, really recommend this story! I feel a little bit lost now I've finished it!
March 23, 2016
While this book had its interesting moments and some clever ideas, overall, it fell short for me. Set in the reign of Elizabeth I, the main character, Rob, longs to become a portrait painter and to develop his own style, one that will reveal "truth" as compared to the popular mannerist style of the day. But breaking into the court, particularly one that prefers flattery to truth, isn't so easy. After finding an apprenticeship, Rob' talents are first noted and then suppressed by jealous fellow painters, until he is taken under the wing of a courtesan named Kat. She introduces him to patrons, and although they never consummate their relationship, Kat takes odd pleasure in having Rob paint upon her body (and having him watch her encounters through a hole in the arras. It is through Kat that he meets such notables as Sir Walter Raleigh, miniaturist Nicholas Hillyard, and Simon Foreman. The latter provides him with a substance that transforms Rob's paints so that they may better render lifelike portraits.
While telling Rob's story, Overall brings in a number of other well-known artists, courtiers, and other celebrities of the day: Drake, Essex, Walsingham, the Gheeararts, even Marlowe. And we see the politics of the times at work in the constant spying, jostling for favor, and persecution of Catholics. But somehow, the novel just didn't grab me. Maybe it tried too hard; maybe it was that Rob was not a very engaging character. And it just ended, almost as if the author said, "Well, that's it, 300 pages," and gave us a 1-1/2 page epilogue with no explanation.
While telling Rob's story, Overall brings in a number of other well-known artists, courtiers, and other celebrities of the day: Drake, Essex, Walsingham, the Gheeararts, even Marlowe. And we see the politics of the times at work in the constant spying, jostling for favor, and persecution of Catholics. But somehow, the novel just didn't grab me. Maybe it tried too hard; maybe it was that Rob was not a very engaging character. And it just ended, almost as if the author said, "Well, that's it, 300 pages," and gave us a 1-1/2 page epilogue with no explanation.
November 9, 2012
Sonia Overall has done a masterful job in depicting Elizabethan London. The descriptions and overall language are spot-on and evocative. But is gorgeous (yet not precious) prose enough to create a stellar novel? Personally I need compelling characters that I want to spend time with, and I didn't find them here. The protagonist was not only unsympathetic but, even worse, dull. And the main conceit regarding the prostitute's unusual fondness for being covered in paints--I didn't buy it for a second.
May 30, 2012
One of my favorite books of all time. Beautifully, lyrically written, with a wonderful first chapter where the artist looking back over his colorfull life talks about how he has no wit with words but chose paper and paint as his medium instead. His profession of his inability to convey things in words is a stark contrast to the eloquent prose he used to describe it. This book has a Shakespearian quality in the writing that draws me back to it again and again.
March 16, 2008
Not the sort of thing I usually read but I enjoyed this immensely.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews