Rating: 
Summary: Read "Strapless" instead
Review: There is very little known about the life of Virginie Gautreau and this author has managed to spin an entire book out of this paucity of facts. This is a light romance story at best, with pretensions of being an historical novel. This book edges close to a serial romance. If you are not enthralled with a lightweight romance, you are better off reading "Strapless". Same people, more factual.
Rating:
Summary: Read "Strapless" instead
Review: There is very little known about the life of Virginie Gautreau and this author has managed to spin an entire book out of this paucity of facts. This is a light romance story at best, with pretensions of being an historical novel. This book edges close to a serial romance. If you are not enthralled with a lightweight romance, you are better off reading "Strapless". Same people, more factual.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This book has all the romance and drama of fiction, and yet a powerful sense of authenticity. Because it is a novel, I felt I was able to get close to that legendary figure of "Madame X," and to understand her, in a way that would not have been possible in a conventional biography.
I loved her in all her glamor and complexity, and I learned so much about the art world, and about Paris of the 19th. century. The novel gave me everything I would want in a work of fiction, a sense of being inside the characters, and at the same time, I gained an education!
I really couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: A quick, entertaining read
Review: This novel is about a woman whose portrait at the Metropolitan has fascinated me to such a degree that I considerate it my favorite portrait. Therefore, I was intrigued by the idea of a novel about this mysterious creature. The pseudo-autobiography is quite breezy- indeed, I finished the book in hours. I enjoyed the parts of Virginie's story prior to posing for Sargent, especially the scenes in Louisiana, which breathe with life and detail. The rest of the novel definitely falls flat and there is no conclusion, but rather an abrupt end. Still, if you are facinated by the topic, it is a worthy addition to the Madame X library.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty As a Picture
Review: What do you do if you are a biographer who falls in love with a painting but can't find enough historical evidence to write the life story of the painting's subject? You make something up! That is precisely what Ms. Diliberto has done in this enjoyable, albeit romanticized, fictional adaptation of the life of Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau, the subject of John Singer Sargent's 1884 painting, Madame X.Ms. Diliberto saw Sargent's masterpiece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and knew immediately that she wanted to do a biography on the enigmatic woman depicted in the painting. Unfortunately, when she undertook the project, she could not find enough information on the subject. As a result, she took the information she had managed to collect and used Madame X as the subject of her first fictional work. The novel is similar to other recent works of historical fiction, such as The Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Other Boleyn Girl. The novel itself is a quick and enjoyable read. The main character is well-developed, though I cannot say the same for most of the supporting characters. It is hard to say whether or not their lack of depth is a failing on the author's part or a deliberate attempt to emphasize the superficial nature of the main character. Everyone's appearance is vividly described, as is the environment in which they live, so I would venture to say that the lack of insight into their intellect is deliberate. Virginie lives a life dictated by appearances. There are instances where the dissemination of the historical fact seems a bit heavy-handed. Those instances are probably a result of Ms. Diliberto's background as a biographer. I was impressed with her descriptive abilities and her flair for social melodrama. This novel felt similar to the works I have read by Jane Austin, particularly Emma. The colorful world that unfolds in I Am Madame X successfully captures a few of the romantic possibilities inspired by Sargent's portrait. On a side note, I also enjoyed the Author's Note given at the end, where she gives the reader insight into what was fact and what was fiction. She even points out factual elements that she altered a bit to improve her story. I thought giving that information was a nice touch.
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