The instant bestseller by the author of The Duchess Countess recounts the true story of the secrets, betrayals, and tragedies in the lives of the two youngest daughters depicted in Pierre-August Renoir's famous portrait, The Pink and the Blue, and that of their siblings and parents in the decades leading up to World War II. Class tensions, anarchist bombings, and the Dreyfus Affair provide the setting for the aristocratic lifestyle of the prominent Jewish Cahen d'Anvers family. As collectors of impressionist artwork and eighteenth century furniture, these wealthy philanthropists donated restored villas to France, propping up the French economy. Yet the busy social schedule of galas and balls ends badly for these former pillars of the community as religious conversions and collaborations with the Nazis pitted family members against each other. This literary discussion, led by an art historian, places Renoir's painting of the two youngest daughters and another portrait of their older sister in the context of the Belle Epoque in Paris and the sinister history that followed.
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