The first volume in an utterly charming historical romance series about three sisters seeking their paths in the male-dominated fields of art and science.
Author: Ann-Christin Antell
Finnish original: Valkea lilja
Publisher: Gummerus 2025
Genre: historical romance
Number of pages: 364 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample, English synopsis
The Adel Sisters trilogy follows three talented and charming sisters in the early 1900s Finland and on their travels in Europe as they try to find their way in the male-dominated fields of art and science. The sisters live with their painter father Axel and mother Matilda in a beautiful Casa Adel in Naantali, southwestern Finland. The family has aristocratic background but have been impoverished due to unfortunate events. The oldest daughter, Thyra, is an introverted soul focused on mathematics and astronomy. Middle child Lily loves art and aspires to become a painter like her beloved father. The youngest, Kitty, spends her days roaming about forests and lakes and dreams of becoming an archaelogist. In addition to complicated matters of the heart, the reader gets swept in the cultural and spiritual movements of the era that influenced art and science alike. And a depiction of a time when women were active and committed actors on many fields but for on e reason or another repeatedly overshadowed by men in a patriarchal society.
In White Lily (Adel Sisters #1, 2025), the middle child of the Adel family, Lily, gets to accompany their eccentric grandmother to spend the summer in Florence to further her studies and see the art treasures of the city. It’s 1910s and modern art is just starting to get foothold in the art communities in Europe. Before the trip, Lily gets a tempting marriage proposal from a longtime friend, and promises to give an answer upon her return. In Florence, she meets a fetching Italian art patron and an enigmatic Swedish painter who inspire her to discover art, aesthetics, spirituality – and herself. There is no going back to her old ways.
About the author
Ann-Christin Antell