Chloe

A riveting novel based on the true story of the brave, enigmatic young woman who modelled for one of Australia's most famous paintings.

Taking the reader from Victoria's wild shipwreck coast to the artists' studios of revolutionary Paris and the bloody battlefields of Flanders, this sweeping novel reimagines the volatile history of the beautiful and enigmatic young woman immortalised in one of Australia's most iconic paintings. Created in Paris in 1875, Chloe, Jules Lefebvre's depiction of a naked water nymph, was brought to Melbourne's Young & Jackson Hotel in 1909, where it has hung ever since.

In this passionate, luminous retelling, Katrina Kell seeks to unlock the riddle behind the girl on the canvas, known to history only as Marie. In doing so, she weaves the compelling story of an incandescent spirit - a woman with the strength to defy the boundaries of class and convention in order to survive, and an enduring power to influence the lives of others across time and distance.

About the Author

Katrina Kell was born in Scotland and moved to Australia as a child. Her award-winning writing includes two young adult novels, short fiction, poetry, essays, and journalism.

A vivid and unforgettable dream was the inspiration for Chloé. The unpublished manuscript of the novel won an Australian Society of Authors Award Mentorship, and Katrina's PhD thesis, Capturing Chloé: Reimagining a Melbourne Icon, explores the myths and volatile history of the iconic nude painting and its model.

Katrina is an Honorary Research Associate at Murdoch University. She lives and works in Boorloo (Perth) on the unceded lands of the Whadjuk Noongar People.