Portrait of an Unknown Lady

About the book

In this dazzling story of art and illusion, secrets and schemes, who is to be trusted - and what is real?

From the internationally acclaimed author of Optic Nerve

*A TLS Book of the Year*

'A writer who feels immediately important' Observer

At a hotel in Buenos Aires, a woman checks in under a pseudonym. She wears a black fur shawl and has no luggage. She is alone.

Over the coming days and nights, she tells a story, which begins with a secret shared in a local bath house, revealing art forgery and fraud on a dazzling scale. At its heart is an enigmatic genius who for years forged portraits of the city's elite, before disappearing without trace. It is a story of influence and intrigue, in...