Alexander Larman

The afterlife of a painting: Molly & the Captain, by Anthony Quinn, reviewed

A portrait of his daughters by the 18th-century artist William Merrymount links two engaging family sagas set in the following centuries

Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of his daughters. The fictional William Merrymount’s painting ‘Molly & the Captain’ is described as Gainsborough-esque. [Getty Images] 
issue 12 November 2022

Novels about art are often strange, vain affairs. After all, writing about artists, especially fictional ones, can seem like a strained exercise in trying to yoke together two irreconcilable mediums. It is to Anthony Quinn’s credit that his ninth novel, Molly & the Captain, not only succeeds admirably as a centuries-spanning account of the influence and afterlife of the eponymous painting, but manages to say illuminating things about creativity, love and family dynamics in the process.

The book is divided into three sections.

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