The Painter’s Daughters
This biographical novel focuses on Margaret and Molly, the daughters of artist Thomas Gainsborough, taking them through their lives from childhood. The narrator, in a vivid first-person present-tense voice, is Margaret known as Peggy, the younger of the two but increasingly called upon to be the protector of her sister, as Molly’s grip on sanity becomes increasingly tenuous. I first encountered these sisters in Anthony Quinn’s fine 2022 novel Molly and the Captain. Gainsborough did indeed affectionately call Peggy by the nickname of ‘Captain.’ His portraits of them can still be seen in London’s National Gallery.
The book opens with lyrical descriptions of the process of preparing canvases and the mixing of paints, which then widens to bring us into the heart of the little Gainsborough family – Thomas, bright, witty, by turns a warm father and a selfish husband; his wife, also Margaret, relentlessly practical and sensible, not only running the household but keeping the business accounts. The family moves to the fashionable surroundings of Bath, where later the girls enter the marriage market with disastrous results.
The family background of the artist’s wife is, we are told early on, kept secret from the girls. Another narrative, a third-person account of a tavern girl in Harwich named Meg, gradually unravels this mystery. Whilst Peggy and Molly’s material conditions improve, Meg embarks on a gripping mission that leaves her hungry and homeless in London.
Poignant, funny, psychologically acute, and finely narrated, this book is generally solid in its period, but I have a few quibbles. For instance, Gainsborough is shown to be keeping his paint in labelled metal tubes – but these were not available before 1840. Still, this is a very deeply felt story of sisterly love – and of the sacrifices made by carers in every era – which deserves to succeed. Highly recommended.
