Pamela Thompson Every Past Thing

In November 1899 artist Edwin Romanzo Elmer and his wife Mary Jane return to New York City ostensibly to start over, but in many ways to try to finally move past the death of their daughter Effie, who died almost a decade earlier. Whereas Edwin wants reconciliation with his affluent brother Samuel so that he can re-enter the upper crust and subsequently obtain a position with the National Academy of Design; Mary Jane secretly searches for her former lover Jimmy Roberts at an infamous Manhattan anarchist dive. He seeks to escape with his art into the future while she seeks to escape in her more exciting past. However, Edwin is distracted from his goal by his wife's frequent disappearances as he suspects she has a lover.

This is an interesting biographical fiction of the famous still life painter and his wife that rotates perspective so the audience comprehends her disenchantment and his fears. The story line takes place over five days in 1899, but clever use of flashbacks to Effie's death in 1890, the renowned Mourning Picture paying tribute to her death, and Mary Jane looking back to her time with the anarchists add time and depth to the tale. Although ironically the Mary Jane segue, especially early, can turn too arty, slowing the read, fans of late nineteenth century Americana bio-fiction will appreciate the spotlight on the painter and his spouse.