In 1892 Paris, Annie Shaw longs to escape the confining American Colony where she's lived for twenty years as a quiet Civil War widow. As a practicing artist, she immerses herself in the Belle Epoque's vibrant life of art, literature, and music. But when her domineering mother-in-law announces plans to move in next door and make Annie her permanent caregiver, Annie must choose between being responsible for others—her expected societal role—or living her life on her own terms.

A reimagining of the life of which there was no historical record, Portrait of an Unseen Woman: A Novel of Annie Shaw is a bold historical novel that confronts the constricting Victorian norms of the late nineteenth century.