A Woman With No Clothes On
Encyclopedia
A Woman With No Clothes On (2008) is V R Main's debut novel
. Set in 19th century Paris
, Main tells the story of 18-year-old Victorine Meurent
, the painter Edouard Manet
and their shared longing for the ultimate painting. Winner of the Trafalgar Squared Prize, and shortlisted for the People's Book Prize, it is published by Delancey Press.
and the working-class Victorine Meurent
narrate A Woman With No Clothes On. A chance meeting between the two leads to an intense relationship of painting and sexual tension. Manet creates a scandal when he exhibits Le déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia in which the naked model is a young Victorine. While critics and the general public dismiss the works, and label Victorine a common prostitute, she is determined to make her own mark in the art world, as a painter herself. Her bitter struggle to succeed is punctuated by the exchanges between Manet and his friend Baudelaire on the matter of modernism.
The author of Manet, Lesley Stevenson has praised Main for 'rescu[ing] Victorine from her invisibility in the Parisian art world of the nineteenth century'.
The novel has received press attention in The Guardian
and The Times
. The Socialist Worker
recently carried an article on the novel's attention to issues of gender
and social class
.
The novel has received a mixed response on websites with user-generated reviews, such as online retailer Amazon.com
and high-profile feminist blog The F-Word (magazine). Some readers have remarked on its flowing prose and exuberant characters. Others believe it is too intelligent for its own good and have remarked on the various traits often associated with debut novel
s.
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
. Set in 19th century Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Main tells the story of 18-year-old Victorine Meurent
Victorine Meurent
Victorine Louise Meurent was a French painter and a famous model for painters.Although she is now best known as the favourite model of Édouard Manet, she also was an artist in her own right, who exhibited repeatedly at the prestigious Paris Salon...
, the painter Edouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
and their shared longing for the ultimate painting. Winner of the Trafalgar Squared Prize, and shortlisted for the People's Book Prize, it is published by Delancey Press.
Plot summary
The aristocratic ManetÉdouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
and the working-class Victorine Meurent
Victorine Meurent
Victorine Louise Meurent was a French painter and a famous model for painters.Although she is now best known as the favourite model of Édouard Manet, she also was an artist in her own right, who exhibited repeatedly at the prestigious Paris Salon...
narrate A Woman With No Clothes On. A chance meeting between the two leads to an intense relationship of painting and sexual tension. Manet creates a scandal when he exhibits Le déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia in which the naked model is a young Victorine. While critics and the general public dismiss the works, and label Victorine a common prostitute, she is determined to make her own mark in the art world, as a painter herself. Her bitter struggle to succeed is punctuated by the exchanges between Manet and his friend Baudelaire on the matter of modernism.
Critical response
A Woman With No Clothes On is the winner of the Trafalgar Squared Prize for Work in Progress. It is described by the chair of judges, Wendy Robertson as 'outstanding. A powerful novel. The writing is original, literary, intense and well-observed.'The author of Manet, Lesley Stevenson has praised Main for 'rescu[ing] Victorine from her invisibility in the Parisian art world of the nineteenth century'.
The novel has received press attention in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. The Socialist Worker
Socialist Worker
Socialist Worker is the name of several socialist/communist newspapers associated with the International Socialist Tendency...
recently carried an article on the novel's attention to issues of gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
and social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
.
The novel has received a mixed response on websites with user-generated reviews, such as online retailer Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and high-profile feminist blog The F-Word (magazine). Some readers have remarked on its flowing prose and exuberant characters. Others believe it is too intelligent for its own good and have remarked on the various traits often associated with debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
s.
External links
- A Woman With No Clothes On official website
- The Naked Truth Guardian article by V R Main
- A Woman With No Clothes Times Literary Supplement article by Michael Eaude
- Rewriting the history of Manet's favourite model Socialist Worker article by Matthew Cookson
- Feminist views of Meurent The F-Word