The Painted Girls

"Belle epoque Paris springs to life under the sure hand of Cathy Marie Buchanan, who delivers a world in The Painted Girls that is earthy, delicate and seductive. Edgar Degas is a central figure during the creation of his signature sculpture, Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen. Two real-life characters, aspiring adolescent ballerina Marie van Goethem and her older sister, Antoinette, narrate the story in alternating chapters, offering contrasting perspectives on a life of struggles and hard-won pleasures."