In this dazzling story of art and illusion secrets and schemes who is to be trusted - and
what is real?From the internationally acclaimed author of Optic Nerve *A TLS Book of the
Year*'A writer who feels immediately important' ObserverAt a hotel in Buenos Aires a woman
checks in under a pseudonym. She wears a black fur shawl and has no luggage. She is alone. Over
the coming days and nights she tells a story which begins with a secret shared in a local
bath house revealing art forgery and fraud on a dazzling scale. At its heart is an enigmatic
genius who for years forged portraits of the city's elite before disappearing without trace.
It is a story of influence and intrigue in which nothing is as it seems. We're not to expect
'names numbers or dates' she cautions but a more subtle kind of reckoning... Told in a
mordant irresistible voice and full of sharp surprises Portrait of an Unknown Lady is a
captivating enquiry into what we mean by 'authenticity' in life as in art. At once poised and
capricious elegant and bold it is a thrilling exploration of the relationships between what
is lived what is told what is remembered and what is real. Translated from the Spanish by
Thomas Bunstead
