Mystery of the Black Madonna

Mystery of the Black Madonna follows the adventures of Sara, fictional granddaughter of the painter Henri Matisse, as she attempts to recover a statue hidden in a cave near Nice, France.
It is a chapter book written for pre-teens based loosely on the life of the painter Henri Matisse and his fictional granddaughter Sara. Sara spends the summer with her grandfather in the French countryside. She is recruited by her grandfather’s Russian housekeeper to retrieve a mysterious statue of a Black Madonna hidden in an underground cave system beneath an ancient abandoned church.
Her companions Ludmilla, the Russian housekeeper, blind Jacques, his seeing eye dog, Ben, and Nathan, an American artist help her along the way but in the end Sara must brave great danger by herself in order to meet the Black Madonna face to face and rescue her.
The Tarot, a neighbor’s honey bees and her grandfathers painting lessons guide her on her quest.

This book is a work of fiction inspired by my devotion to the Black Madonna and a fascination with, and love for, the life of and work of French painter, Henri Matisse.