Book Review: The Paris Muse, a Novel by Louisa Treger

It was fitting that Louise Treger had a book signing for her latest novel, The Paris Muse, in Ménerbes at the Dora Maar House. Inspired by the tumultuous relationship between Dora Maar and Pablo Picasso, I read the gripping tale into the wee hours of the night. Impossible to put down, The Paris Muse draws the reader into this impulsive, nine-year journey that started in 1934. The novel explores the question: would Picasso have reached the same artistic recognition without Dora Maar? While we will never know, The Paris Muse offers a unique perspective on their intertwined, agitated creative journey from Dora Maar’s point of view.

The Author

Louisa Treger is the acclaimed author of four novels: The Lodger (2014), The Dragon Lady (2019), Madwoman (2022), which was a historical fiction Book of the Year in The Times and The Sunday Times, and a Book of the Month in the Independent, and The Paris Muse (2024). She has written for The Times, The Telegraph, Tatler, BBC History Magazine and English Heritage. She has a First Class degree and a PhD in English Literature from UCL, and currently lives in London.

Book Review

Born in Paris, Henriette Théodora Markovitch moved to Argentina with her parents when she was three. Perhaps the early memories of her parents’ sorrowful marriage foreshadowed her troubled future. Culturally, her father (Croatian) and mother (French) were worlds apart, living in an unhappy union in a city that disappointed both.
On her fourteenth birthday, Théodora received a camera from her father. The gift set the trajectory of her life in motion.

“The moment I held it in my hands, I knew that it was my perfect shield against him and Maman, as no one looks at the person behind the camera. I felt a surge of gratitude towards Papito for knowing me better than I’d realised.” ~ The Paris Muse

The family returned to Paris in 1926. Electing to pursue a creative path, the young woman attended Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. At school, Théodora met Jacqueline (Jacqui) Lamba and her sister Huguette, who would remain central in her life for many years.

In 1931, she changed her name to Dora Maar, shortening Théodora and choosing the German word for ‘molten crater’ as her last name, acknowledging her volatile, explosive character. It was the same year that she opened a professional photographic studio. Working in partnership with Pierre Kéfer for three years, they focused on advertising and fashion, working with many famous names, including Cocoa Channel and Jeanne Lanvin. She met Georges Bataille, a charismatic writer and activist, and their relationship evolved from friends to lovers and a definitive creative force for Dora.

Dora ‘engineered’ a meeting with Picasso, catching his eye at the Deux Magots café in Paris when she was 28. The year was 1935, and the start of an unleashed nine-year rollercoaster relationship. Although it seems clear that Picasso truly loved Dora Maar, he was also unspeakably cruel. He was often unfaithful throughout their union and quick to flaunt the harsh truth. Yet, during that period, Dora inspired Picasso to produce some of his most famous works, ‘Weeping Woman’ (a portrait of Dora) and ‘Guernica’ (1937), reflecting the horrific German bombing of the city by the same name. The emotional intensity of their relationship, with its torrid lovemaking, expressions of undying love, open infidelity on Picasso’s part, and desperation on Dora’s side, is palpable in the narrative.

For years, their relationship ocellated between torrid lovemaking, expressions of undying love, open infidelity on Picasso’s part, and desperation on Dora’s side. During the pre-war years, the couple spent time in Paris, experiencing intense creative spurts and decadent holidays with close friends in Mougins near the French Riviera. Once the impact of WWII became obvious, Dora and Pablo hunkered down in Paris. The war years hold terrible memories for anyone who lived through that period, and despite wealth and black-market access, the two artists were not immune to tragedy, cruelty, and regrets. By 1945, their relationship was over, and Dora Maar had to rebuild her life as a person and an artist. And that is a story for another book.

Who Should Buy The Paris Muse?

The Paris Muse is available on Amazon and other booksellers. While this novel may be a work of fiction, the characters and historical period are accurately portrayed, making you feel like a voyeur to the story. The book is for anyone who enjoys historical novels and learning about famous artists whose work remains impactful. The novel’s historical accuracy will leave you feeling well-informed about this fascinating period in art history.

The Dora Maar House

At the end of their relationship, Picasso found the Maison General Baron Robert in Ménerbes for Dora. He gave her a painting to purchase the house. She owned the house until she died in 1997. Dora continued to paint and create works for the rest of her life. After the breakup with Picasso, she began isolating herself, becoming more interested in her Catholic faith. When the residency program opened in 2006, the home was renamed the Dora Maar House or Maison Dora Maar.

In 1997, Nancy Brown Negley purchased the house to create an artist’s residency program (for writers, academics and artists). Nancy Brown Negley was born in 1927 in Houston, Texas and died in Houston in July 2022. She was an artist, visionary and philanthropist. The eldest daughter of George R. Brown, she grew up in Houston, Texas. Nancy inherited from her father and her uncle Herman Brown their vision and daring to build and create. However, her mother, Alice Brown, influenced her passion for historic preservation and the arts.

How Dora Maar Continues to Influence the Art Scene in Ménerbes

Additional Reading on Dora Maar

Rare photographs by Dora Maar cast Picasso’s tormented muse in a new light ~ The Guardian.

In Praise of Guernica ~The Guardian (opinion piece)

Guernica, a large black-and-white oil painting executed by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in 1937 following the German bombing of Guernica, a city in Spain’s Basque region. The complex painting received mixed reviews when it was shown in the Spanish Republic Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Paris, but it became an icon as it travelled the world in the ensuing years, raising controversies on its meaning and its rightful home. ~ Britannica.com

Pablo Picasso & Dora Maar, entre influence et alienation ~ Beaux Art Magazine

Dora Maar: How Picasso’s Weeping Woman Had the Last Laugh ~ The Guardian