The Painted Girls is a good book, with interesting characters. It is a novel about the three Van Goetham sisters in Paris of the 1880's. They are exceedingly poor and struggle daily for the most basic subsistence.
The oldest, Antoinette, used to be one of the petit rats, one of the little girls hired by the ballet. Now she does walk-on roles in the Opera, trying to help her mother, an absinthe-addicted laundress, support her younger sisters. She's also in love with a young man who she believes loves her truly, but her sister believes is dangerous. Her younger sister Marie is just starting at the ballet as a petit rat. She is talented and, while not beautiful, is chosen by the artist Edgar Degas as model and muse. The youngest sister, Charlotte is an excellent dancer, and follows her sisters into the Opera.
The book goes back and forth between chapters narrated by Antoinette and Marie. We follow their efforts to survive, to keep going, to have enough to eat - no matter what it takes.
It wasn't until I read the author's notes that I realized that the Van Goethem sisters actually existed - that Marie was, in fact, the model for Degas' sculpture 'Little Dancer, aged fourteen'; that Charlotte had a successful ballet career that lasted until 1954; that Antoinette's lover (although they never met in real life) was the defendant in a sensational murder trial.
I found this book to be well researched, the characters are beautifully drawn. Nothing is sugar coated - it was a tough and often unfair life. There are no 'AHA' redemptive moments, where someone realizes the error of her ways. There is no knight in shining armour to offer true love and a way out. There is, however, the thread of loyalty, devotion and sisterly love throughout.
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