Portrait of a Bride

What if there were no daughters, no women, no wives? What if an artist could capture the femininity, the sensuality, the very spirit of his subjects? An artist so skilled and dedicated that he could paint the sweet curve of a cheek, the fire in a flashing eye, the lush promise of every man's fantasy and bring her to life, transported from another place and time, ready for the marriage bed of wealthy patrons. What if such a man accepted the honor of creating a consort for his own father, a queen for his people, yet found her irresistible loveliness a temptation too powerful to resist? For this was no pliant, submissive female, but a brilliant scientist, a bold innovator, a daring lover. And her retrieval from modern-day Philadelphia would forever change Blackfell and the Pygmalion who dared to create his ideal . . . Portrait of a Bride