Gabriel Marchant — Wendy Robertson

In 1963, on the day of the assassination of President Kennedy, the eminent painter Gabriel Marchant, reflects on his early days when he met Archie, charismatic warden of The Settlement, an arts centre in his home town. Unemployed and feeling very low, Gabriel was rescued by the encouragement he finds at The Settlement, inspired by Archie Todhunter and the enigmatic German Rosel Vonn, a sculptor and artist. With him on his journey are his best friend Tegger, who will become a writer, and the clever, witty schoolgirl Greta who will change lives in her own way. Later, both haunted and inspired by images of life and work underground, Gabriel's painting finds first local and then national fame and his life is changed forever. As he tells the whole tale of how he became a painter Gabriel Marchant celebrates the liberating nature of art in hard-pressed lives and the role of people like Archie Todhunter those magical change-makers in lives like his own. ‘A powerful writer.' Mail on Sunday ‘A lovely book..' Woman's Realm ‘Wendy's characters are wonderful … quirky and interesting people, utterly believable … A triumph.' Northern Echo. ‘Wendy Robertson is a rare breed â€" a writer with an exquisite gift for creating relateable characters,' Scottish Daily Record.