The English Masterpiece by Katherine Reay

On the opening day she is giddy with happiness and pride and perhaps a bit of champagne. As she walks around the hall, observing the people (as her boss instructed her to) and the paintings, one of the exhibits strikes her as odd. The Woman Laughing is clearly a masterpiece, but it stands out in the row of other Picasso’s works. The more Lily looks at the painting, the more it dawns on her that this is not the great artist’s work. Shocked with her discovery, she blurts out “It’s a forgery” for everyone, including the owner of the painting and The Times’s journalist, to hear. Troubles follow, and Lily feels really anxious and guilty. With her careless exclamation she has put her boss’s and her own career in danger, and, coming from a working class, she cannot afford losing her job. To add to the troubles, an insurance investigator arrives from New York to sort out the problem.

Ridden with guilt, Lily tries to mitigate the situation. However, something about the circumstances and the behaviour of her boss makes her doubt. Was she really wrong about the painting? In order to protect herself and in spirit of recovering the truth, Lily starts her own sort of investigation, and it takes her on a rather tumultuous journey.

The English Masterpiece combines so many interesting threads and topics, that it simultaneously makes you want to pause and look more closely at every brushstroke and keep on reading to find out how the situation will resolve. Katherine Reay submerges the reader in the atmosphere of the art London, the city which still feels some aftermaths of the Great War and the current economic depression, the city of contrasts and great power – all of it for you to savour in small details. Then there is the world of art and fascinating stories about certain pictures and artists. You can read a great passion and love for art behind every line, and it is very interesting to understand more about how forgers work, what techniques, tools and ways they use to be able to copy a great master.

But the story is much more than the depiction of one heist and an investigation to solve it. There are, of course, two very personal female stories – Lily’s and Diana’s. Lily who suffers from a childhood trauma and denies herself the true expression in art. Lily who tells each and everyone who sees her painting that it’s just a hobby, and at the same time wishes to take part in the new Emerging Artist programme of her boss. Lily who considers herself a forger – not in practice but in her heart.

And Diana, who had to erase her old self. Diana who is in a rather controversial relationship. Diana who fought to occupy the post she has now. An ambitious woman who wants to go further, sometimes regardless of the price to pay.

There is also the family line. I loved the way Katherine Reay describes and portrays Lily’s family. The relationship in it is far from ideal and there are so many things for Lily to understand as she ploughs through this whole conundrum – about herself, about the people around her. I loved a phrase that Conor Walsh, the insurance investigator, says at some point – “Families are complicated, Lily. You can love them and hurt them, want to draw them close while shoving them away. Those two states – the pull and the push – can be true simultaneously.” How do you go on as a family when a disaster hits it? How do you navigate the conflicting desires and keep supporting each other? In the end, despite all of it, Lily’s family feels like a cosy place you want to be part of.

And this story doesn’t shy away from the social background of this time. Can you surpass the borders and limitations of your class? Can you become something bigger? And may be do you need to?

In comparison to all the other threads the love line sometimes feel like it’s been left on the curb, yet it is like a cherry on top of the cake. It gives the protagonist the completion she needs. After all, it may be the story of the forged marsterpiece, of art and artists, but in the first place, it is the story of finding oneself and asserting oneself in this world. Quoting the novel, “After all, that’s what art is as well – a form of self-expression” or “Art is the singular soul – the flaws, the vulnerability and the memory all on display”. And to show it all you need to find it first, together with the courage to open it up to the world and thus proclaim yourself, and become part of the world.

All in all, it’s a wonderful novel. If you love reading about art and people who create it, it’s the novel for you. If you enjoy heists, mysteries and dark pasts, you’ll find a lot in this book. And you will fall in love with these characters, who come as they may from a different era, but are still very much like us.

Happy reading!