Eccentric, single-minded Fanny van de Grift Osbourne, a mother with three children, is traveling to Europe to escape her cheating husband. Recovering from a family tragedy in the bohemian resort town of Grez, she picks up a young beau and reveals to him that, even as child, it was an artist's life she wanted. He understands all too well, being Robert Louis Stevenson, future famous author. This novel, based on Stevenson and Osbourne's biographical details—follows the two's unlikely courtship around the globe, as well as the linking of their creative lives (his first big success, Treasure Island, was written to amuse Fanny's son during one summer holiday in Scotland). Stevenson's fans will love reading about his development from the sickly youth who teaches himself to write by wandering around Paris with his senses on high alert, considering himself "a collector of characters," to a writer, husband, stepfather and—wait for it—cocoa farmer. As for Fanny? Horan captures the unique anxieties of an artist's less successful spouse, including, Stevenson's realization about "what happens when a person's suppressed desires fester until they turn monstrous.” And thus, Horan's novel, which begins as a love story, becomes a complex exploration of what happens when creative dreams are waylaid—if not a warning to prevent that misstep at any cost.
— Amy Shearn
