During his leave from the war, Charles convinces his wife Catherine to help wounded soldiers recover from their injuries by transforming their home into a medical hospital. However, Catherine never thought she'd be carrying out this decision alone and a widow. She embarks on an emotional journey that leads her to struggle with reality when she begins to mistake a wounded soldier as her fallen husband.
Dr. McCleary arrives at the new medical hospital with enthusiastic confidence; he fully expects to ease the grim future of the soldiers with little hope to re-enter society as normal men. With the help of an artist, Dr. McCleary assists in creating an innovative facial mask that promises to begin the healing process. Will Catherine find a way to resurrect Charles? What will it cost her if she does?
The medical detail in this book was astonishing, and Ms. Shields did a fabulous job of painting a picture of the anguish soldiers must have been feeling during that time, however I had a hard time liking the unstable heroine.
Spring 1915. On a sprawling country estate not far from
London, a young woman mourns her husband, fallen on a
distant battlefield. The eerie stillness in which she
grieves is abruptly shattered as her home is transformed
into a bustling military hospital. Recoiling from the
chaos, unhinged by grief, the young widow finds unexpected
refuge in a tender young soldier whose face, concealed by
bandages, she cannot see. Their affair takes a fateful turn
when she confronts--and seizes upon--the opportunity to
remake her lover in the image of her lost husband. THE
CRIMSON PORTRAIT is a novel of glittering surfaces that
belie dark truths. Its rich cast comes into focus as the
novel peels back layers of suspense and intrigue to
illuminate the abiding mysteries of affinity and desire.
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