Portrait of the Artist's Wife - B format

Paperback, 130 x 198mm

First published 1992; this edition published 2002

Victoria University Press is enormously proud to publish this new edition of one of New Zealand’s favourite novels, published to critical acclaim here and in the UK and US, and winner of the Wattie Award in 1992.

While Sarah Tandy is determined to nurture her talent as a painter and keep her marriage intact, her husband, Jack Macalister, is equally determined to remain the cheerfully philandering and selfish man that he is.

Praise for Portrait of the Artist's Wife
‘The promise that was evident in Girls High has been splendidly fulfilled, and now it seems only a matter of time before Wellington replaces New York as the literary capital of the world.’
—Nick Hornby, Sunday Times

‘She really is world class – her writing's like a richly detailed painting, she gets the details just right.’
—Sharon Crosbie, Evening Post

‘It is a testament to Anderson’s style and skill as a writer that these places and decades are brought to the page with such energy, yet also with such a finely judged mix of humour and sympathy.’
—Caroline Wilder, Sunday Star

‘This is a moving, universal novel, a pleasure to read.’
—Sophy Kershaw, Time Out 

‘Barbara Anderson's novel is a rarity; an unadulterated, unpretentious, enjoyable read.’
—Julie Morrice, Glasgow Herald

‘It is an enormously entertaining book with perceptions so true they leave you glowing in startled recognition.’
—Patricia Thwaites, Otago Daily Times 

‘A quite irresistible writer with a microscopic eye for telltale detail – and a dazzlingly accurate ear for dialogue as it is really spoken.’
—Dirk Bogarde

 ‘Portrait of the Artist's Wife is full of love and wisdom, of immense understanding of what really happens between women and men.’
—Stephanie Johnson, Evening Post

‘Barbara Anderson treats her readers like favoured guests. She entertains with skill and panache; she is never boring or long-winded, and she subtly flatters us by implying that we share her worldly and trenchant views on certain types of human beings. She charms us with words.’
—Sue McCauley, Listener & TV Times

‘… understated brilliance’
—Sally Staples, International Express

‘This is well written and filled with honesty, comedy and sadness. I enjoyed it immensely.’
—Lyn McDonald, Wairarapa Times-Age

‘Barbara Anderson has produced here an accomplished, enjoyable and eminently readable novel.’
—Margaret Quigley, Press

‘This is a fierce and funny book …’
—Kathryn Mead, Sunday Telegraph

‘She has a magician's touch for transforming the mundane into the compelling and can lace even her saddest scenes with the right touch of comedy.’
—Sally Staples, Sunday Express