A Powerful Story of Love and Art. Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese

 This is another beautifully written but harrowing wartime story. It involves two women, the beautiful Adele Bloch-Bauer and her niece Maria Altmann. They both defy the conventions of their time about women and stand up for their rights. Maria also finds out whether she has the courage to protect her family legacy...

Adele marries an older man but she is not all that attracted to him. However, he agrees not to 'keep her in a box' and let her fulfill her ambitions and artistic nature, not easy for a woman in Edwardian Vienna! When she meets the famous artist Gustav Klimt and finds herself involved in his artistic circle and tempted by his charisma, she might have to make a choice...

Many years later, Maria is forced to contend with the dangers of war. Can she and her husband escape the Nazis? Can she make the terrible sacrifice to find their freedom? It is a choice between life and death.

Based on a true story, this is a captivating novel which makes you want to visit Vienna because it is so luminously described. I especially enjoyed reading about the artistic circles in Edwardian Vienna and I'd like to learn more about them. It was news to me that even Edwardian Vienna had a dark side, though. Apparently, the mayor was extremely anti-Semitic and anti-Semitism was growing rapidly. 

I read this book for The TBR 22 in '22 Challenge of Rose City Reader.