Jessie Burton’s debut novel, The Miniaturist, was published in 2014 to much fanfare but mixed reviews. It nonetheless became a bestseller. So it’s not surprising to discover that Burton struggled with the pressure that comes with writing a second novel. The Muse, however, is a solid achievement.

The story starts in London in 1967, five years after Odelle Bastien arrived from Trinidad, with her degree in English literature and suitcase full of ambition. Until now she has worked in shoe shops but finally she has secured a position as typist at the Skelton Gallery. Having gained the attention of the elusive Marjorie Quick, co-founder of the gallery, Odelle feels sure that her life is about to change forever. She meets a handsome young Englishman at a party, and when he later turns up at the gallery with an arresting painting of dubious provenance, Odelle is smitten – with him and his mysterious painting.

The Muse has a parallel storyline: in 1936, the Schloss family, who are from Austria, settle temporarily in Andalucía, at first blissfully unaware of the impending Spanish Civil War. Nineteen-year-old Olive is a painter of rare talent, but she cannot imagine her misogynistic art dealer father ever recognising her brilliance. She falls in love with a fiery local artist and revolutionary, Isaac Robles, whose younger half-sister Teresa is housekeeper to the Schlosses. In an impetuous moment she passes off her own work as Isaac’s, setting in motion a dramatic subterfuge that results in the paintings being bought by Peggy Guggenheim. Decades later, the repercussions of this act are felt by Odelle and, more acutely, Marjorie Quick.

Burton is a deft hand at character sketches, and the twisting plot of this charming novel will keep you engaged until the end.

Reviewed by Marian Barker