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The Talented Miss Farwell: A Novel
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Published:
HarperAudio 2020
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

Catch Me If You Can meets Patricia Highsmith in this electrifying page-turner of greed and obsession, survival and self-invention that is a piercing character study of one unforgettable female con artist.

"Becky Farwell is one of the most wickedly compelling characters I've read in ages — a Machiavellian marvel, a modern Becky Sharp, a character to root for despite your better judgment — and her story, both topical and timeless, will knock you off your feet." — Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers

At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie's in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she's known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, she's a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make.

But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirely—a quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her family's farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the town's treasurer and controller.

No one understands the ins and outs of Pierson's accounts better than Becky; she's the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesn't see—and can never discover—is that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, "borrowed" funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable.

But as Reba Farwell's deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwell's debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life?

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Format:
OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Street Date:
09/29/2020
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780063036024
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Emily Gray Tedrowe. (2020). The Talented Miss Farwell: A Novel. Unabridged HarperAudio.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Emily Gray Tedrowe. 2020. The Talented Miss Farwell: A Novel. HarperAudio.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Emily Gray Tedrowe, The Talented Miss Farwell: A Novel. HarperAudio, 2020.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Emily Gray Tedrowe. The Talented Miss Farwell: A Novel. Unabridged HarperAudio, 2020.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
1832850e-0007-0b3d-4ea5-f699910182fe
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Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Sep 29, 2020 14:00:18
Date Updated:
Oct 31, 2022 20:57:23
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 14:20:28
Last Metadata Change:
Feb 08, 2024 18:20:18
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 14:20:31
Last Availability Change:
Nov 30, 2023 19:45:35
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 28, 2024 02:11:39

OverDrive Product Record

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The Talented Miss Farwell
fullDescription

Catch Me If You Can meets Patricia Highsmith in this electrifying page-turner of greed and obsession, survival and self-invention that is a piercing character study of one unforgettable female con artist.

"Becky Farwell is one of the most wickedly compelling characters I've read in ages — a Machiavellian marvel, a modern Becky Sharp, a character to root for despite your better judgment — and her story, both topical and timeless, will knock you off your feet." — Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers

At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie's in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she's known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To some, the elusive Miss Farwell is a shark with outstanding business acumen. To others, she's a heartless capitalist whose only interest in art is how much she can make.

But a thousand miles from the Big Apple, in the small town of Pierson, Illinois, Miss Farwell is someone else entirely—a quiet single woman known as Becky who still lives in her family's farmhouse, wears sensible shoes, and works tirelessly as the town's treasurer and controller.

No one understands the ins and outs of Pierson's accounts better than Becky; she's the last one in the office every night, crunching the numbers. Somehow, her neighbors marvel, she always finds a way to get the struggling town just a little more money. What Pierson doesn't see—and can never discover—is that much of that money is shifted into a separate account that she controls, "borrowed" funds used to finance her art habit. Though she quietly repays Pierson when she can, the business of art is cutthroat and unpredictable.

But as Reba Farwell's deals get bigger and bigger, Becky Farwell's debt to Pierson spirals out of control. How long can the talented Miss Farwell continue to pull off her double life?

reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: AudioFile Magazine
      • content: Narrator Allyson Ryan's lighthearted approach provides a believable element to this story of a young woman leading a double life. Becky is the smart and seemingly honest accountant for the small town of Pierson, Illinois. But a passion for high-stakes dealing in the art worlds of New York and Chicago, where she is known as Reba, leads her to divert funds into her own accounts in order to sustain her secret obsession. Ryan never waivers from Becky's girl-next-door persona as she frantically tries to pay the town back before anyone notices. While it is hard to imagine a farm girl with no college degree or art training succeeding in the rarefied world of art dealers, Ryan's voice keeps Becky likable right to the conclusion. J.E.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        Starred review from September 14, 2020
        Tedrowe’s zany, perfectly executed latest (after Commuters) follows Becky Farwell, a comptroller in Pierson, Ill., who uses the small town’s budget to fund her double life as a renowned New York City art collector and dealer named Reba Farwell. Becky has always had a head for numbers and problem solving, but remains tethered to Pierson by her hapless dad and his farm-equipment business. Though she knows nothing about art and never attended college, Becky is drawn to a painting in a Champaign-Urbana gallery. After coming across a surplus of town funds, Becky uses the money to purchase the painting, setting off a decades-long scheme of borrowing more and more from the town coffers to procure art with the intent to resell at a profit to benefit Pierson—but trouble hits when she borrows more than she returns to fuel her habit of bidding for coveted works. Becky’s relationship with the art world gets off to a rough start, but she manages to hit the big-time with the help of mentor Mac Palliser, who both nurtures her collecting habit and betrays her. Tedrowe does a spectacular job of demonstrating the mindset of a character who justifies her criminal activity while believing she’s ultimately good (“Becky breathed a tight little prayer of gratitude, yet again, that she hadn’t been caught. If only she could pay it back, that stupid $542”), as well as making the process of rationalization credible. The unusual plot and Tedrowe’s spirited execution of it make this one sing.

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Catch Me If You Can meets Patricia Highsmith in this electrifying page-turner of greed and obsession, survival and self-invention that is a piercing character study of one unforgettable female con artist.

"Becky Farwell is one of the most wickedly compelling characters I've read in ages — a Machiavellian marvel, a modern Becky Sharp, a character to root for despite your better judgment — and her story, both topical and timeless, will knock you off your feet." — Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers

At the end of the 1990s, with the art market finally recovered from its disastrous collapse, Miss Rebecca Farwell has made a killing at Christie's in New York City, selling a portion of her extraordinary art collection for a rumored 900 percent profit. Dressed in couture YSL, drinking the finest champagne at trendy Balthazar, Reba, as she's known, is the picture of a wealthy art collector. To...

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