The author seems to be making statements about the treatment of women artists and women’s lives in general but for me it wasn’t new and it could’ve been dealt with in a quicker way.

While there Van Eeden viewed Vincent's paintings in Jo and Theo's apartment and wrote glowingly about them.

Johanna elbowed her way into a man’s world to secure her spot among a handful of female art dealers of her time and left Vincent van Gogh’s art legacy to the world. As most know, Paris at the time was one of an artists' free society, debauchery and drunkenness all on the menu, amazing Jo who starts to discard her puritan ways . This initially fictional account of Johanna’s life has at its core feminism and in particular the role of women in society at that time and in particularly the attitudes of the artists at Montmartre. Depending on art-dealer Theo to fund his art, suffering from a severe mental illness, and finally dying so young by suicide.

Unlike her elder sisters, who did household duties, Jo, a "cheerful and lively child," was permitted to further her education by studying English, and earning the equivalent of a college degree. In 1914, Jo moved Theo's remains from Utrecht to Auvers-sur-Oise, interring them next to Vincent's grave with matching tombstones. The writing is so beautifully constructed, the detail is exquisite, and the characters almost jump from the pages. She wrote book reviews for feminist publications and became a good friend of feminist journalist Henriëtte van der Meij.Jo has already met Theo who has flirted with her but with her Dutch upbringing thinks that he is rather presumptive and initially rejects his overtures. At least, you won’t be able to think of Vincent Van Gogh and his work again without remembering now the woman who helped make this genius artist known. After that, Vincent will move to Arles, and the story unfolds with some inspiration from correspondence between the Bongers and Van Goghs. She highlights the role of women in art through Johanna’s struggles to become an artist and later an art dealer and also though the relationship between sculpture August Rodin his student Camille Claudel who she portrays as his lover and creative rival. This book answers all that and more in such a way that will stay with me … probably for my lifetime.

As someone who admires Van Gogh’s work so greatly, that final chapter where Vincent’s Portrait of Dr Gachet sells for 82.However, young Johanna, with a determination of steel ensured that eventually, everyone in the world would appreciate Vincent''s talent. Following Theo's death in January 1891 only a few months after Vincent's, Johanna was left a widow with her infant son to support. Jo, becoming pregnant helps to bring the couple closer together and their son is born, young Vincent.