Blindspot: a novel of a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise by Jane Kamensky & Jill Lepore

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Blindspot: a novel of a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise by Jane Kamensky & Jill Lepore

Blindspot refers to many different things in this novel. It encompasses Stewart Jameson's inability to see that his apprentice is female, Fanny Easton's blindness to her own father's cruelty and the freedom that she used to have, Parliament's lamentable habit of taxing their colonies for a war they already paid for, and even the colonists' ironically calling Parliament's taxation shackles when they still kept slaves in physical shackles...

Stewart Jameson has run away from his debtors in Scotland by crossing the puddle and taking berth in Boston and setting up shop as a painter of faces. He immediately hires an apprentice, one Frances Weston, to grind the paints, set up the canvases etc. Jamie is attracted to his apprentice which doesn't seem to bother him overmuch despite his normal preference for women. Weston(Fanny Easton in actuality) thinks Jamie is the best man she knows (considering her point of reference with other males one can hardly blame her). Several years ago Fanny was the daughter of one of Boston's leading families but an affair with her painting master left her a 'fallen woman' and Fanny refused to give up her freedom and marry the man despite her pregnancy.

Jamie is also more than he initially appears, having come into his debt with all the best of intentions - freeing his best friend, a university-trained doctor and a runaway slave. When the deal went awry Jamie got caught with all the debt and his friend got sold anyway.

To further complicate an already detail-driven plot the colonies are rebelling against England and abolitionists have already taken to the platform in Boston. When a prominent politician is murdered and a black man is blamed Jamie and Fanny (and Doctor Ignatius Alexander) work together to figure out who the real killer is.

The plot is fairly predictable despite the complicated details and switchbacks but the authors keep it fairly light and historically accurate. Jamie is something of a rake and has a unique way of looking at (and phrasing) things. It's really quite entertaining.