Reading an Anita Brookner essay is a humbling experience- I don't think I've ever looked up so many words (English ones mind you, not the gobs of untranslated French quotes). Still, I learned a lot about 19th century French Romantic painters & writers, the focus of most of the essays. AB's sharp criticism of other art historians made me worry she would pan Lessing's The Golden Notebook in that essay- I was actively relieved to find she liked it 😋