A review by roseofoulesfame
Painter to the King by Amy Sackville

4.0

This is an extraordinary book - partly a fangirl's tribute to Velasquez and his work (I did a LOT of Google image searches while reading this - a visit to the Prado is clearly long overdue), partly a step back through time into 17th century Spain, partly a melancholy reflection on mortality as we see Philip IV's legacy inevitably, inexorably, crumbling around him (this is basically the beginning of the end of the Spanish Habsburg line...Charles II of Spain anyone?). Also, the writing is mesmerising.

Not a book I would have picked out for myself ordinarily, so many thanks to the Wigtown Book Festival for including it in the box of books I received last year!