Were you com­pelled to look up any works of art or details from the nov­el?

“Parisian tastemakers recoiled not just from the subject’s revealing clothing, but from her ghostly skin-tone as well.”

“Berenson served as a consultant to many major art collectors, mainly in the United States, and thanks in part to the social connections he had formed in Boston, most notably with Isabella Stewart Gardner.”

“Bananas are currently the most consumed fruit in the country. Yet before 1870, only 0.0001 percent of the population had seen one.”

“Dear Mrs. Gardner, the next Dante reading will be on Friday of this week, here in my study, at the usual hour.”

“The Boston Brahmins have long held the interest of casual and professional historians because of their unique place in nineteenth-century American culture.”

“Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions.”

“The property was once home to two townhouses that the couple bought and merged into one building to make room for Isabella’s rapidly growing art collection.”