The Velveteen Daughter

May 15, 2017
Debut novelist Huber brings psychological acuity and tender empathy to her portraits of Margery Williams, the English American author of the children's literature classic The Velveteen Rabbit, and her artist daughter, Pamela Bianco. Huber's novel knits their viewpoints together in short alternating chapters, a perfect structure for characters whose lives are so intertwined that it would be difficult to tell their stories separately. Growing up in early twentieth-century Turin, Pamela displays such uncanny artistic talent that her Italian-born father puts her under the spotlight, arranging exhibitions that gain her international attention. This childhood fame has dire repercussions. As a young woman in New York's art scene, Pamela endures melancholic episodes and suffers intense, unrequited love for a family friend, while lively, warmhearted Margery constantly worries about her fragile daughter's stability. Huber excels in depicting these complex family dynamics, and her subject is strikingly original. Combining the elegance of literary fiction with realistic period atmosphere and an emotional openness reminiscent of personal memoirs, the prose is entirely immersive. A compelling read for art- and women's-history enthusiasts as well as historical-fiction fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 1, 2017

It doesn't take long for author Margery Williams and Italian husband Francesco Bianco to realize that their daughter, Pamela Bianco, is a child prodigy. In 1921, when Pamela is 14, the New York art world goes mad for her debut exhibition of delicately etched works. Margery soon shares the limelight with her daughter when her beloved children's classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, is published in 1922. Behind the scenes, Pamela fights mental illness for much of her life, a battle triggered by her unrequited love for Diccon, aka author Richard Hughes (A High Wind in Jamaica), and pressure from her father to focus on greater works of art and abandon the children's illustrations she loves. (A joint mother/daughter book, The Skin Horse, was published in 1927.) The alternating narratives, told over the course of 33 years and enhanced by photographs and pictures of Pamela's work, is a masterpiece. In a story as exquisitely wrought as Pamela's intricate line drawings, debut novelist Huber brings to life the challenges of childhood genius, the glittering world of the creative arts in the decades leading up to World War II and beyond, the devastation of mental illness, and the power of unwavering parental love. VERDICT Incandescent, pitch-perfect, and destined for greatness.--Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.