All the Colour in the World: A Novel

By: CS Richardson

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Synopsis: The story of the restorative power of art in one man&’s life, set against the sweep of the twentieth century—from Toronto in the &’20s and &’30s, through the killing fields of World War II, to 1960s Sicily.&“Bold and resplendent. . . . Leave it to CS Richardson to find a way to paint with words.&” —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The MaidHenry, born 1916, thin-as-sticks, nearsighted, is an obsessive doodler—copying illustrations from his Boy&’s Own magazines. Left in the care of a nurturing, Shakespeare-quoting grandmother, eight-year-old Henry receives as a gift his first set of colouring pencils (and a pocket knife for the sharpening). As he commits these colours to memory—cadmium yellow; burnt ochre; deep scarlet red—a passion for art, colour, and the stories of the great artists takes hold, and becomes Henry&’s unique way of seeing the world. It is a passion that will both haunt and sustain him on his journey through the century: from boyhood dreams on a summer beach to the hothouse of art academia and a love cut short by tragedy; from the psychological wounds of war to the redemption of unexpected love.Projected against a backdrop of iconic masterpieces—from the rich hues of the European masters to the technicolour magic of Hollywood—All the Colour in the World is Henry&’s story: part miscellany, part memory palace, exquisitely precise with the emotional sweep of a great modern romance.