A novel of crime and passion in nineteenth-century Newfoundland

Alexander Pindikowsky, a Polish artist working in Heart’s Content, is arrested in 1880 for the crime of forgery. He is sentenced to fifteen months at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s.

Governor John Hawley Glover, when made aware of Pindikowsky’s talent, arranges for the prisoner to serve part of his sentence in a most unusual way—designing and painting ceiling frescoes at Government House.

Ellen Dormody, a parlour maid at Government House, witnesses first-hand the brilliance of Alexander’s artistry. She is at once captivated by the mysterious painter.

Inspired by true events, Art Love Forgery is a story of forbidden love in nineteenth-century St. John’s, a legend that lives on within the walls and ceilings of Government House.

Carolyn Morgan was born in St. John’s and has lived in the city most of her life. While she was teaching English at a local high school, her story “The Collector” was published in Canadian Living magazine (October 2001). Carolyn is a visual artist as well as a writer and teacher. In 2014, she had a solo art show titled Art Is for Apple at the Five Island Art Gallery in Tors Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. This was a multimedia exhibit exploring the mythology and history of the apple. Her interest in art and history inspired her to write Art Love Forgery, her first published novel.

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