Mrs. Van Gogh

Content warnings: mental illness, attempted rape, loss of a family member, loss of a spouse

Johanna Bonger marries Theo van Gogh and becomes Vincent's sister-in-law.

Johanna Bonger leaves her Danish city for Paris to stay with her brother Andries. There she meets Theo van Gogh, an art dealer who will later become her husband. But with Theo comes his brother Vincent, a troubled painter who produces brilliant work but puts a strain on their relationship.

When the van Gogh brothers die, Johanna inherits hundreds of Vincent's paintings. She makes it her life's work to show Vincent's brilliance to the art community. Without Johanna, the world may never have known Vincent van Gogh's works.

The narrative is Johanna's, but the novel is interspersed with letters from Theo and Vincent. The letters are sometimes to Johanna and sometimes between Theo and Vincent.

Frankly, the novel doesn't explain why Johanna married Theo despite Vincent's unacceptable behavior, and why she became his supporter without spending much time with him at all. Either the historical material didn't provide enough information, or Cauci should've padded the narrative with more of Johanna's interactions with both Vincent and Theo.

Only recommended if you are a Van Gogh devotee, but what you see here won't flatter the artist.

Caroline Cauci is a British author who has been publishing novels for 15 years.

Publisher: One More Chapter

Length: 480 pages

Release Date: September 5, 2023

Representation: mentally ill main characters

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.