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The Gilded Beaver Kindle Edition

by Margaret Lindsay Holton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
See all formats and editions
- What happens when an aspiring designer meets up with a big-wig financier? -

Winner of the Hamilton Literary Awards in 1999, ‘The Gilded Beaver by Anonymous’ has been updated in 2020 to reveal the author’s true identity.

Award-winning Canadian artist, Margaret Lindsay Holton explains, “I am free now from a decades-long agreement to hold-my-tongue until ‘one of us dies.’ The previously undisclosed client, ‘G’, passed on in March of this year in his 80th year. I can now claim this ‘story’ as my own.”

In this quasi-fictionalized account, Canadian fine furniture designer, Iris Ann Burdock, is introduced to one of Toronto’s financial-elite executives, Luke G. Henderson. He considers her, as well as a commission. The problem, for Iris, is that her recently-divorced client is moody and unpredictable. Iris must excavate his carefully-crafted façade to find the ‘real man’ in order to rise up to meet his design challenge. A witty and frustrating exchange erupts between them. Romantic sparks fly.

As the battle-of-wills escalates, Iris’s meticulous design efforts are contrast to her meandering solo sojourns to a 25-acre bush property in the backwoods of Muskoka. There, quiet reflection makes her question, again and again, what really matters …

Critical Reviews from 1999:

" ... like good wine - rich, complex, pleasingly acerbic ... a dance of intellect & eros that expertly unfolds ... and closes with panache." - Jim Bartley, Globe & Mail, Toronto

"... a psycho-sexual tug of war in the world of design" - Spring Book Review, Globe & Mail, Toronto

"... Novels about the relationship between two brothers, mothers and sons, husbands and wives, or fathers and daughters are common. But the relationship between a fine furniture designer and an imperious client can be just as fraught with tension, drama, comedy, incomprehension and hurt as any family relationship, and this novel proves it. - Why the 'anonymity'? Because, quotes the author, 'This is a true story’… " – The Toronto Star
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  1. Print length
    209 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    June 8, 2020
  5. File size
    1319 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Critical Reviews from 1999:

" ... like good wine - rich, complex, pleasingly acerbic ... a dance of intellect & eros that expertly unfolds ... and closes withpanache." - Jim Bartley, Globe & Mail, Toronto

"... a psycho-sexual tug of war in the world of design" - Spring Book Review, Globe & Mail, Toronto

"... Novels about the relationship between two brothers, mothers and sons, husbands and wives, or fathers and daughters are common. But therelationship between a fine furniture designer and an imperious clientcan be just as fraught with tension, drama, comedy, incomprehension andhurt as any family relationship, and this novel proves it. - Why the'anonymity'? Because, quotes the author, 'This is a true story'... " - The Toronto Star

About the Author

Margaret Lindsay Holton has written 2 other novels, 'Economic Sex' (1985, under pen-name) and the award-winning 'TRILLIUM' (2019), set in the wine-making of Niagara. As a multi-disciplined Canadian artist, she is best known for her signature fine furniture designs, pinhole photography, oil paintings and poetry. She has also written & directed the classic Canadian short film, 'The Frozen Goose' (2016), and produced a spoken-word and electro-pop album to mark Canada's sesquicentennial, 'CANADADA: TAKE TWO'. Recently nominated for the Premier's 'Excellence in the Arts' Award, this eclectic polymath was selected as 'Artist of the Year' by the City of Burlington in 2016 for her forty-year contribution to the local arts and cultural scene in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B089T7QJ5B
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Acorn Press Canada; 2nd edition (June 8, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 8, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1319 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 209 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1777249805
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

About the author

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Margaret Lindsay Holton

Margaret Lindsay Holton

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

UPDATED - March 2021

Hello there - I've been scribbling and typing in one form or another for over 40 years ...

To get a broader sense of what I scribble about, please check out the very good CanPoetry website at the University of Toronto. Here's the link: -- https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/holton/index.htm -- You may have to copy & paste.

Alternatively, check out my artist profile on wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Lindsay_Holton

Also, I am on Twitter @TrillLINDSAY

Public Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/MargaretLindsayHoltonArtist/

Happy hunting!

mlh

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
3 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Nita Nae's Books
4.0 out of 5 stars Artisrty in Word
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2021
Verified Purchase
I was in nature with Iris, angry the same as Iris, and disappointed as Iris. To walk away with the unknowing of what was created from everyone involved. To hold such artistry inside for all these years. I recommend reading for the artist inside, the lover inside, and for the human inside.
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Jjspina
4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing mystery involving Furniture Design!
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2022
This story details interactions and correspondence between Iris Burdock, Canadian furniture designer, and her billionaire client, Luke Henderson. Luke commissions Iris to create four fireside chairs made entirely from Canadian materials. The author details the process of design, choice of materials, workmen and finally the product as each chair is assembled.

What transpires between Iris and Luke is a mixture of comedic repartee and frustration mixed with an undercoating of desire. Iris becomes irritated by Luke’s lack of explanatory dialogue as she tries everything she can to please him and what he first expressed he wanted in the furniture designs. She runs into a stone wall each time she tries to fix something that he suddenly decides he wants to change.

An intriguing mystery as it begins in the future and returns to the past in explanation. I was provided a copy of this book and chose to review it without compensation.
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Vampire Hunter
4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look at the life of a Canadian artist designing high-end furniture
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2020
Iris Burdock, a talented, up-and-coming, but cash-poor artist and furniture designer, attempts to land a big fish, a wealthy corporate client, whose endorsement and business could propel her career forward. However, this client is enigmatic, arrogant, and difficult. Will she get his business and will the sexual tension between them lead anywhere? As the tale unfolds, readers get a rare look at the assortment of talented people behind the creation of custom-crafted furniture and follow Iris on lone treks through the Canadian wilderness. The tale is well-crafted, with an underlying tension that keeps the reader hooked until the end.
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