The Bellini Madonna

A seductive mystery novel from the acclaimed author of DARK WATER

'Sparkling . . . glowing with wit' Hilary Mantel

'A mystery story, a love story and a comedy of errors . . . A compelling debut that entertains and unsettles in equal measure' Guardian

Mawle House. The run-down country seat of the Ropers, a warren of mysterious artefacts and secretive women and - thrillingly - the possible hiding place of a Bellini masterpiece: the elusive Madonna.

Art historian and aesthete Thomas Lynch, in disgrace and desperation, knows that finding this painting could resurrect his career. But by immersing himself in Mawle's strange past and stranger present, he soon finds himself entangled in a game of cat and mouse. Lynch will soon learn that in life, as in art, nothing should be taken at face value.

“The Bellini Madonna achieves more than mischief as it explores the complexities of desire in a narrative suffused with comedy and a mounting sense of loss . . . Lowry has composed her novel with tremendous care, daring to set puzzles for the reader that, once solved, form a portrait of lonely people with a talent for "self-sabotage". A mystery story, a love story and a comedy of errors set in that most familiar of locations - a ruinous country house - The Bellini Madonna is a compelling debut that entertains and unsettles in equal measure”

This sparkling first novel is a treat for lovers of elegant mystery and exquisite prose . . . a delight - The Times

Fusing the techniques of the thriller writer with those of historical fiction, Lowry . . . invokes an authentically Bellinian sense of distantly exact perspectives to create a first novel of genuine subtlety and distinction - Times Literary Supplement

The Bellini Madonna achieves more than mischief as it explores the complexities of desire in a narrative suffused with comedy and a mounting sense of loss . . . Lowry has composed her novel with tremendous care, daring to set puzzles for the reader that, once solved, form a portrait of lonely people with a talent for "self-sabotage". A mystery story, a love story and a comedy of errors set in that most familiar of locations - a ruinous country house - The Bellini Madonna is a compelling debut that entertains and unsettles in equal measure - Guardian

A complex narrative twists and turns back in time to Baedeker's Italy, and Robert Browning's aphrodisiac asparagus. This is a first novel and Lowry has thrown a very considerable talent into it, creating a splendidly quirky art historian - Independent

The Bellini Madonna is a quite remarkable debut novel - one which takes the reader into several worlds, each so perfectly drawn that you can smell the dusty rooms of Mawle, the fragrance of roses blooming in a secret garden and come to understand the complexities that drive the central characters towards their separate ends - Oxford Times

This is an unusual book; a debut novel that doesn't feel like one. A multi-layered detective story wrapped in a sardonic confession of a not-very-likeable individual, its tone is caustic and intriguing . . . marks the arrival of an interesting new talent - Irish Examiner

Elizabeth Lowry was born in Washington, DC and educated in South Africa and England. She lives and works in Oxford. Her first novel, The Bellini Madonna, was published in 2008 to great acclaim; her second, Dark Water, was published in 2018 and longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. She is a frequent contributor to the London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal.

A seductive mystery novel from the acclaimed author of DARK WATER 'Sparkling . . . glowing with wit' Hilary Mantel 'A mystery story, a love story and a comedy of errors . . . A compelling debut that entertains and unsettles in equal measure' Guardian Mawle House. The run-down country seat of the Ropers, a warren of mysterious artefacts and secretive women and - thrillingly - the possible hiding place of a Bellini masterpiece: the elusive Madonna. Art historian and aesthete Thomas Lynch, in disgrace and desperation, knows that finding this painting could resurrect his career. But by immersing himself in Mawle's strange past and stranger present, he soon finds himself entangled in a game of cat and mouse. Lynch will soon learn that in life, as in art, nothing should be taken at face value.

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