The History Behind Water Lily Dance
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Thank You!
Happy Fall! Thank you for making Water Lily Dance an Amazon bestseller! I’ve been so excited to share my new novel with you.
Water Lily Dance is an imaginative historical, women’s fiction novel from my heart to yours. Past intertwines with the present as we follow the lives and secrets of three women uniquely connected by the most famous artist in the world, Claude Monet. But at what cost?
Why Claude Monet? Why this story? Will there be an Essie’s Roses book two? (Yes!) You have asked great questions regarding my new novel, so I wanted to share the reason and some history behind this special story.
“I must have flowers, always, and always. ”
Q: How did the idea for Water Lily Dance originate?
A: Sophie’s Journey: After the death of my mom, a casualty to a national drug shortage for a chemotherapy drug to extend her life she could not get, I had to follow my heart and write this novel as a dedication to her. I decided to share my experience with loss, the secret side of grief between daughters as caretakers and mothers with end-of-life secrets and wishes. My mom was a 1960s wife who dreamed of becoming an artist, but she set that dream aside to raise her children. Though she never realized her dream, art resided in her soul, art, and creativity she gifted to her children. And so, for a few pages, my mom was a famous artist: Josephine de Lue. Sophie’s journey is one from my heart to my readers and offers a massive dose of hope.
Claude Monet: The tranquility of Claude Monet’s paintings always captivated me. I was astounded when I learned of Monet’s secret struggles, selfish, careless nature, censorship of his art, his unyielding dedication to paint and see like no other, the aim behind his rebellion, and the darkness, including deep self-doubt, this painter of lights endured while he produced serene masterpieces.
Water Lily Dance provides a unique insight into the little-known early life of Claude Monet and his mysterious first wife, Camille Doncieux who Sophie believes she is related to. Water Lily Dance is no ordinary love story between an artist and his model, but a revolution, a woman’s rebellion to find independence, herself, in the midst of her ordered life and the upheaval during the birth of Women’s Rights in France and the Impressionist art movement in 19th-century Paris.
Q: What compelled you to write about Claude Monet? Did the book involve special research?
A: YES! How do you whittle fourteen years of the most famous artist in the world and his mysterious first wife, eighteen moves spanning three countries in twelve years, and the support of their friends, stars of Paris, the Impressionists, into a few scenes for a novel? When I set out to write Water Lily Dance, I had no idea the monumental task of research required regarding the birth of Impressionism, its many artists, their “new” Paris, and the lives of a trailblazing couple surrounded by famous friends and patrons.
Each thread unraveled a mystery and heartache surrounding Monet’s early life. In the end, I realized Water Lily Dance held many rebellions: Claude Monet, Camille Doncieux, Sophie Noel, Josephine de Lue—every character has a story, a fight. And there was Camille, a mysterious and misunderstood figure in art history. We know little of her background because Claude Monet destroyed all letters, photographs, and diaries relating to her existence, with one exception: the eighty portraits he and his fellow Impressionists painted of Camille, many Monet kept and repurchased from previous buyers in his private possession until his death despite his remarrying. This fact alone began my quest to dig deeper in archives, hundreds of letters and 19th-century French records and publications to find more about Camille Doncieux and her family and I did.
Camille Doncieux, Springtime (The Reader) by Claude Monet, 1872
Q: What intrigued you most researching Claude Monet, Camille Doncieux, and the Impressionist art movement?
A: I fell down several rabbit holes! Studying Claude Monet’s early life, character, and treatment of Camille—I didn’t like him very much. Yet, Camille’s life with Claude Monet was her choice. She was neither victim nor observer, which fascinated me and made for an interesting story. Though the historical account regarding Camille Doncieux is fictional, I was thrilled when I discovered new information regarding her family’s connection to wealth and art, never before discussed. This thread enabled me to paint the layered life of this intriguing woman, an important figure in the Impressionist art movement I believe in more ways than we will ever know.
The details of complex historical events, places, and people I use to write my stories can get overwhelming to write and read, so I seek out those tidbits in history that surprise, move and intrigue me. In my debut novel, Essie’s Roses, one fact drove that story: it was illegal for a slave to learn to read and write. In Water Lily Dance, Claude Monet meant more to art than his drive to paint what he saw not what or how they told him. He defied the “rules” and mandates of the day as an artist and salesman—with little training. Claude Monet wanted freedom. He didn’t wait for it; he created it for himself no matter the consequences. The art establishment hated him for this and purposed to censor him, and the Impressionists, because he broke from tradition.
Another intriguing aspect to my story includes the recent historical finds regarding Claude Monet’s wealthy background and network of celebrity support. I chose to write Monet, not as a poverty-stricken artist, but one well bred and connected within Parisian high-society with several famous, wealthy friends who supported his career. Because Monet spoke little about his upbringing and often exaggerated facts, the only way to truly know young Claude Monet was to study his famous friends and letters as Auguste Renoir, Émile Zola, Alexandre Dumas, Gustave Courbet, even a wealthy French code breaker in the military, and other celebrities of the day. My creation of Camille is fictional but is based on historical references, including a family secret threatening her very ruse of respectability. How could I resist?
“Chance is not a word to toss in the air. It’s a word to take in, a word to give yourself.”
Q: How long did it take you to write Water Lily Dance?
A: Four years. I wrote the premise to this story years before I started writing it. I wrote a few books in between, suffered some life interruptions and the tragic losses that gave this book wings. I hesitated to share my personal story in Sophie and found it challenging finding the truth about the most famous artist in history: Claude Monet. Experiencing two art museum exhibitions of Claude Monet’s works in St. Louis and New York inspired me further, but it wasn’t until I started my research that I realized the scope of this book and young Claude Monet’s life. Writing multiple timelines gave me fits! I realized not everyone will geek out on art history of the Impressionists as I did, so I strove to write relatable stories. I chose not to focus on Monet but his first wife and model Camille. Monet exaggerated and omitted details about his early life. I had no idea I would end up researching fifteen of his famous friends and the celebrities of Paris of the day.
Q: Can you recommend any great books for readers to expand their knowledge of Impressionist art?
A: So many! A few of my favorites: Claude Monet The Water Lilies by Georges Clemenceau; Monet by Himself edited by Richard Kendall is a fascinating look at Monet’s paintings, drawings, pastels, and letters. Origins of Impressionism, Gary Tinterow, Henri Loyrette (The Museum of Metropolitan Art); Frédéric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism, Michel Hilair and Paul Perrin; Monet and His Muse, Mary Mathews Gedo.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: My lovely readers have been asking for a sequel to Essie’s Roses. I’m happy to announce, I’m writing it now: WESTLAND! I love the characters in Water Lily Dance. I’m exploring continuing Camille’s story and taking Sophie’s story in a different direction, perhaps in another book. Stay tuned! Readers can keep up with me on Goodreads and Facebook and get the inside scoop via my newsletter. Sign up at www.michellemuriel.com.
To read more about my novels, Water Lily Dance and Essie’s Roses, please visit my website’s FAQ Page at www.MichelleMuriel.com As always, I treasure your support, cheers, and reviews. You enable me to write stories, and I’m so thankful!
