Odalisques

<I>Odalisques</I> is the story of an American travel writer with a love of art, whose work takes him across Europe, visiting its cities and art museums. It is in the Louvre that he encounters 'La Grande Odalisque', first Ingres' painting of that name and then its living representation in the form of the enigmatic woman who accosts him there. He is as beguiled by the woman as he is by the painting, but finds himself spurned by her, her accusation being that he, has no soul, no culture. Rising to the challenge to prove her wrong, on his tour from city to city and from gallery to gallery he finds his education, both cultural and sexual, 'firmly' taken in hand by the 'Odalisques' of the title, those exotic creatures who have been an inspiration for artists throughout the ages. Cover art: Ingres' 'La Grande Odalisque'