An Artist in her Own Right

Set in France during the Napoleonic period, this is the story of painter Augustine Dufresne (1789-1842) the wife and widow of artist Antione-Jean Gros, painter of Jaffa.

An Artist in Her Own Right explores the journey from Augustine's childhood during the French Revolution, through her artistic training and marriage during the Napoleonic era, and looks at the triumphs and challenges she faced in her life and art during the turbulent years that followed. The novel views this intensely masculine time through a woman's eyes.

As little is known about Augustine’s life, this is a fictional biography based on the author's extensive research into the art and artists of the 18th and 19th centuries.