Maryann D'Agincourt

Shade Light book cover

SHADE AND LIGHT

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE

The effects of World War II resonate through the lives of two families - one American and one European - living outside of Boston. As Jenny grows up in the shadow of her parents' dark experiences in Trieste during the war, she is pulled to the haunting art and ironic gaze of her next-door neighbor Jonas, whose own father, preparing for deployment as an army medic, died before he was born. But when the mysterious Eric Stram enters her life unexpectedly, she learns how her parents' past is not behind them but will continue to push her life in unforeseen - and possibly unwanted - directions. This poignant tale of the echoes of the past and the complications of the present explores the tensions between duty to family, and the desires of the individual, and the striking way that art can draw disparate lives together.

 

Printz book cover

PRINTZ

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE

Who is Jacob Printz? Is he detached and cynical or warm and melancholic? Readers come to know Jacob through the eyes of Greta Hatler as the two travelers, separated by age and background, meet unexpectedly in the midst of their own personal sorrows in Paris. Impressions of Jacob rise to the surface through haunting memories of his younger sister, Catherine. As in much of D'Agincourt's fiction, a character's truth lies in his or her response to a work of art.

 

Glimpses of Gauguin book cover

GLIMPSES OF GAUGUIN

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE

Published December 2014, Portmay Press, Glimpses of Gauguin was inspired by Paul Gauguin's masterpiece, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:  Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

Maryann D'Agincourt's stunning novel in sketches follows Jocelyn from childhood to middle age, starting at the moment in her youth when she first hears the name of the mysterious Canadian painter, Alex Martaine, whispered by her parents. Each of them--Jocelyn, her art-loving mother, and her literary father--has a unique relationship with the man, and he does, in ways the child could never imagine, turn each of their lives around.

 

Journal of Eva Morelli book cover

JOURNAL OF EVA MORELLI

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE

In Journal of Eva Morelli, D'Agincourt explores how three people's lives are transformed by their choices. Psychiatrist Stephen Forester and his wife Brea, an actress, left the frenzy of New York City ten years before in search of a quiet life in a tranquil seaside community in New Hampshire. But when the elusive Eva Hathaway steps into Stephen's office and begins to reveal the story of her own tragic past, his convictions start to crumble. Over the sweltering summer that follows, Stephen becomes more and more haunted by obscure memories of his childhood as he wonders what secret could be so terrible that Eva can only reveal it in her journal.

Maryann D'Agincourt’s tight and evocative prose weaves psychologically astute and suspenseful storytelling into an imaginatively compelling and intelligently executed novel.

 

All Most book cover

ALL MOST

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE

This insightful collection of short stories takes the reader on a journey through a diverse array of lives and relationships: a journalist finding new love after the death of her husband in the title story, "All Most"; the building tension between two lovers in "Salzburg and Vienna"; the relationship between a woman and her adopted brother in "Kimono"; a woman in her mid-thirties who is losing interest in her marriage, "Halloween"; a schoolgirl shocked to discover her mother's secret in "Autumn Whorl"; a man who faces personal angst in "Jacksonville"; to the grand finale—"Wade's Technique."

D'Agincourt delves deep into the emotional lives of her characters and sheds light on the mysteries of human decisions and the significance of art and music in our lives—all embodied by the cover, a copy of an Oskar Kokoschka painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Two Nudes (lovers). This short story collection is a brilliant display of contemporary literary fiction.