Year: 2004
Editorial: Alfaguara
Language: Español, Catalán
Synopsis: Regarding this unknown event in Chilean history, the writer, Jorge Marchant Lazcano, conjures Whistler’s destiny in South America. His unexpected relationship with a young mysterious woman leads him to read “The Daughters of Mary”, regarding the gloomy luck of the women who found themselves in the Temple of the Compañia on the 8 of December 1963.
What strange bond ties the “Woman in White”, one of Whistlers’ loveliest paintings, with Amalia Bezanilla, the pathetic heroine in “The Daughters of Mary”.
The result is a fascinating and disturbing novel which manipulates the conventions of the omniscient nineteen century narrator with the shadows of the Victorian novel. The author nods approvingly in the direction of Wilkie Collins, the Brontë sisters, and even Blest Gana, in his effort to build two very different worlds.
“Marchant Lazcano delved into our history to come up with excellent material to build a novel with a much Gothic and Victorian: the burning of the Temple of the Compañia the 8 December 1963, and the trip to Valparaiso by the North American painter, James McNeill Whistler in 1866… “The Girl in White”, title drawn from one of Whistler’s most famous paintings, exhibits all the conventions of the mystery novel… No one will be let down with “The Girl in White”. Its author knows the trade of writing; he masters the techniques of narrating entertaining and interesting story, and knows how to satisfy with largesse his readers’ expectations.” José Promis, Revista de Libros, El Mercurio.
