ONE MADDER WOMAN

A memorable and clandestine love story between a famous male painter and a less-heralded but visionary woman painter who nonetheless made her indelible mark on a male-dominated art world.

In One Madder Woman , Dede Crane vividly recreates the life of Berthe Morisot, the sole female member of the renowned group of artists known as the Impressionists. Inspired by true events, One Madder Woman charts her complicated relationship with her sister and rival, Edma, and her tumultuous love affair with Édouard Manet, the charismatic enfant terrible of the Paris Salon, against a backdrop of upheaval and war in mid nineteenth century Paris.
One Madder Woman illuminates the stories behind familiar masterpieces and sketches a life teeming with obstacles defied and conquered by the genius of Morisot. At a time when art was a space completely dominated by men, Morisot upends all expectations of what a “proper woman” should be and manages to carve out her own place in the art world. Crane's rich prose and lyrical expression bring this revolutionary artistic period to life, in vivid and glorious color.

DEDE CRANE is the author of multiple books, including the acclaimed novel Sympathy, which was a finalist for the Victoria Butler Book Prize. A former professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Crane has studied Buddhist psychology and psychokinetics at Naropa Institute in Colorado and the Body-Mind Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts. Currently, she calls Victoria, British Columbia home.