A Piece of the World

Inspired by Andrew Wyeth's enigmatic and legendary picture Christina's World, this gorgeous and atmospheric story about friendship, desire, and art comes from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the blockbuster sensation Orphan Train.

"He later confessed to me that he had been reluctant to show me the picture. He believed that the way he had represented me—dragging myself across the pitch with my knees curled behind and my fingertips gripping the dirt—would not sit well with me. Wheatgrass and timothy make up the parched moonscape. That run-down mansion in the distance, rising like a long-forgotten secret."

Christina Olson saw the world only as the isolated farm her family owned in the little Maine seaside town of Cushing. Christina seemed destined for a modest existence, having been born in the house her family had inhabited for many centuries and becoming more and more disabled due to sickness. Rather, she served as the artist Andrew Wyeth's host and inspiration for almost twenty years, and he used her as the subject of one of the most well-known American paintings of the 20th century.

In a compelling book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of American history, Christina Baker Kline skillfully blends truth and fiction, much as she did in her acclaimed mega hit Orphan Train. She vividly imagines the life of a lady with a difficult connection to her family and her background, as well as a particular link with one of our greatest contemporary painters, by bringing into foreground the real woman behind the painting.

A Piece of the World is a narrative about the rewards and responsibilities of family history, and how an artist and muse may work together to create a new and enduring legacy. It is told in evocative and clear English.