The Masterpiece

One of the finest novelists and poets writing in the Netherlands today, Anna Enquist's first novel took the Dutch and German reading public by storm. The Masterpiece takes place during three days in the life of the painter Johan Steenkamer, and of the women closest to him. Is an artist as self-absorbed as Johan capable of expressing the deepest emotional understanding through his art, or is his seductive energy entirely selfish, a surface gloss.

ANNA ENQUIST is one of the Netherlands' most admired and respected writers, with a large readership in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden. She is also a practicing psychologist, poet and concert pianist.

The Masterpiece was Anna Enquist’s first novel. It has proved a runaway best seller in the Netherlands, having already sold more than 250,000 copies.

The Secret was her second novel and won the 1997 Dutch Readers’ Prize. It,too, has been a remarkable best seller, with over 250,000 copies sold in Europe.