There is a contrast between the two lovers: messy Julia, with right-wing tendencies, and the protagonist, Gerald, the art dealer who puffs himself up with élitist

comment. Who wants to read of a character making love when he makes comments such as, ‘I joked that travelling economy was a sacrifice for me, but I didn’t make a big deal out of it. Not out loud, anyway’? There’s an over-reliance on primary colours; there are too many amusement parks and too many descriptors such as ‘A curving slide shaped like a model of the genome’s helix’. Added to the end of phrases, they sap the writing.

This leads the story into sentimentality when Gerald is falling in love, though some readers might cringe at the thought. But instead of falling flat, the tale gains intensity as Gerald and Julia’s relationship becomes complicated. When Morgan leaves descriptors behind, suggesting silence, the story gains much-needed weight.

Ignoring the main thrust of Turner’s Paintbox (the love story), there is the delicately written history of the painter, Turner. Morgan’s interpretation of history is simple. In the focus on Turner, Morgan writes naturally; the painter’s story is readily absorbed and believed. Morgan’s delicate handling of Turner and of the characters’ history shines through the grey swamp of a love story, revealing the expertise of Morgan as an historical writer. But why place the two narratives side by side? Turner seems to have been introduced only in order to give Gerald some colour.