Stolen Beauty

by Laurie Lico Albanese

  Randy Schoenberg generously shared his recollections and thoughts on the case of Maria Altmann vs. the Austrian government. Charles Steinberg, a medical student at the University of Vienna when Hitler marched into Austria, shared the story of his escape during the Anschluss.

  Many talented writers and teachers at Stonecoast in Maine, where I earned my MFA during the revision of this novel, contributed in myriad ways. My outstanding mentor Susan Conley is gifted, talented, kind and generous as a teacher and a writer. Aaron Hamburger put Collette in my hands and helped me find Adele’s voice. Jaed Coffin said, roughly, “why write that, when you can write this?” and clarified so much for me. Robin Talbot, Matthew Jones, Justin Tussing, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Debra Marquart, Elizabeth Searle, David Anthony Durham, Ted and Annie Deppe on the faculty, and my friends Julia Munemo, Vicki Hamlin, Sally Donaldson, Shannon Ratliff, Clif Travers, Anya Mali, Ellie O’Leary, Maggie Almdale, Bill Stauffer, Lauren Liebowitz and the rest of the Howth gang, thank you for encouragement, camaraderie, and lots of bourbon, whiskey, and Guinness. My dear Montclair Writers Group friends Maureen Connelly, Alice Elliot Dark, Lisa Gornick, Nancy Star, Jill Smolow, Jill Hamberg Coplan, Kelley Holland, Laura Schenone, Peg Rosen, Diane Harris, Pat Berry, Dale Russakoff, Pam Kruger, Anne Burt, Cindy Handler, and Candy Cooper—thanks to every one of you. Friends, students, and fellow teachers at The Writers Circle, especially Michelle Cameron, I learn so much from all of you. Georgia Clark and the Brooklyn Writers Salon, there can never be too much of a good thing.

  A research grant from the Hadassah Brandeis Institute provided financial assistance for the novel. A sabbatical from Wagner College in the fall of 2011 supported Dr. Laura Morowitz’s research on this project. On her behalf, I thank her wonderful husband, Eric, and three incredible daughters for their love and support, and her beloved late aunt, Frances Morowitz Schwide, who inspired love of words, art, and Eastern European history.

  Finally, forever, there is my beloved husband, Frank, daughter, Melissa, and son, John. Our home and your love are at the center of my life and everything I do. I am so proud of you, and so grateful for all the hours and years we’ve spent at the table talking about books, history, and ideas.

  Readers Club Guide

  Stolen Beauty

  By Laurie Lico Albanese

  This reading group guide for Stolen Beauty includes an discussion questions and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

  Topics & Questions for Discussion

  1. During Adele’s life, there is an ongoing debate about which is more essential, beauty in art, or truth in art. What do you believe the primary aim of art should be? Why? Are beauty and/or truth integral to artistic works? Why, or why not?

  2. Do you think Adele loved Gustav Klimt, or just the lifestyle he represented? Discuss.

  3. In retaliation to his critics, Klimt paints Adele as the heroic Jewish widow Judith. Do you think his response is effective? Why or why not? On page 78, Klimt claims, “There’s no solution in words. . . . The only answer is art.” What does he mean by this? Do you agree/disagree?

  4. Throughout the book, sex and death are connected visually and in the characters’ minds. Find some passages that illustrate this connection. Why do you think this is a significant motif for Adele or Maria?

  5. Both Maria and Adele must contend with the issue of faithfulness in marriage. What are the different messages the two stories provide on this topic? Which do you believe is more important, fidelity or freedom?

  6. Another parallel in Maria and Adele’s marriages is the presence of double standards. How is each woman held to a different standard than her husband? What are the similarities and differences between the roles of women during these two generations? How do they compare to expectations for women today?

  7. While reading, did you find yourself identifying more with Adele or with Maria? In what ways did you connect to them?

  8. Discuss the role of national and religious identity in the book. What does it mean to Adele to be Jewish? What does it mean to her to be Viennese? How do these characteristics relate to each other? Does Adele’s relation to being Viennese or Jewish change for her over the course of the book?

  9. In pages 214 to 216, Maria’s mother asks her if her children will be Jewish, and whether they will speak German, reflecting anxieties she holds about life in the Jewish diaspora. How does the book depict the impact of emigration on Maria’s family? In what ways do Maria’s relationships with Judaism and Vienna parallel or diverge from Adele’s?

  10. Was there anything that surprised you about the book’s depiction of the Nazi annexation of Austria?

  11. Maria consistently describes Ferdinand as devoted to his wife Adele, claiming “my uncle had never stopped loving her” (page 216). Where do you see the presence or absence of this adoration in the chapters from Adele’s perspective?

  12. Maria admires her aunt Adele and strives to live up to her example. Are there figures in your family or life whom you feel driven to emulate, or who you fear you fall short of?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. As a group, watch the movie The Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann. Afterward, discuss as group how the film’s depiction of Maria compares with Stolen Beauty. Are there aspects of the book that you wish had been portrayed in the movie, or vice versa?

  2. For more information about Adele Bloch-Bauer and Gustav Klimt’s portraits of her, consider reading The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O’Connor, upon which the movie The Woman in Gold was based. Compare and contrast O’Connor’s nonfiction with Laurie Lico Albanese’s novelization of the Bloch-Bauers’ lives. What are the strengths and benefits of fictionalizing their stories?

  3. A number of artistic movements and artists are referred to in Stolen Beauty, some in passing and some more deeply considered. As a group, look up the artwork of some of the artists and movements mentioned: the Impressionists, the Symbolists, the Secessionists, the Expressionists, Gustav Klimt, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Rudolf von Alt, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Edvard Munch, Carl Moll, Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, or any others. Discuss your favorites. For any artists or movements discussed in the book that you weren’t familiar with, was their artwork as you envisioned while reading? How, or how not?

  LAURIE LICO ALBANESE has published fiction, poetry, journalism, travel writing, creative nonfiction, and memoir. Her books include Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir, Lynelle by the Sea, and The Miracles of Prato, cowritten with art historian Laura Morowitz. Laurie is married to a publishing executive and is the mother of two children. To learn more, visit her at LaurieLicoAlbanese.com.

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  ALSO BY LAURIE LICO ALBANESE

  The Miracles of Prato (cowritten with Laura Morowitz)

  Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir

  Lynelle by the Sea

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Atria Books eBook.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Laurie Lico Albanese

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Atria Books hardcover edition February 2017

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  Interior design by Kyoko Watanabe

  Endpapers: (Front) Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907 (oil, silver & gold on canvas), Klimt, Gustav (1862–1918) / Neue Galerie, New York, USA / De Agostini Picture Library /E. Lessing / Bridgeman Images; (Back) Map of Vienna © Antiqua Print Gallery / Alamy Stock Photo.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Jacket design by Donna Cheng

  Jacket photograph: An Elegant lady with pearls (oil on canvas),

  Gustave-Jean Jacquet (1846–1909) © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images

  Author photograph: Martha Hines Kolko

  Names: Lico Albanese, Laurie, 1959- author.

  Title: Stolen beauty : a novel / Laurie Lico Albanese.

  Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria Books, 2017.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016023119 (print) | LCCN 2016028839 (ebook) |

  ISBN 9781501131981 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501131998 (softcover) |

  ISBN 9781501132001 (eBook)

  Classification: LCC PS3562.I324 S76 2017 (print) | LCC PS3562.I324 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016023119

  ISBN 978-1-5011-3198-1

  ISBN 978-1-5011-3200-1 (ebook)