The Painter’s Daughters

Gemma Lawrence and Louise Brealey narrate two intertwined stories in Howes’s debut historical novel about the artist Thomas Gainsborough’s daughters. Gainsborough’s youngest daughter, Peggy, has always cared for her sister, Molly. As they grow older and are pushed by their mother to conform to the rules of polite society, however, Peggy finds it increasingly difficult to hide her sister’s episodes of delusions. Peggy is torn between protecting her sister and finding her own independence. Interspersed throughout the sisters’ story is that of another young woman, the daughter of a tavern owner, who must find her way in the world after becoming pregnant by an elite guest. Lawrence, who performs Peggy’s first-person point of view, provides an expressive listening experience, capturing the faraway detached remembrances of times past, the anxiety over keeping Molly’s mental illness a secret, and the excited energy of Peggy’s teenage inner dialogue. Brealey tells Molly’s story, written in the third person, often with the disengaged tone of a casual observer, yet still imbuing her performance with enough emotion to keep listeners interested. Capturing the myriad accents, she gives characters unique voices.