The Blue Hour

James Becker lives and works at Fairburn Estate, a country estate. The estate is owned by Lady Emmeline Lennox and will eventually be inherited by her son, Sebastian, who is Becker’s longtime friend. He receives a call from staff at the Tate Modern: Fairburn owns Vanessa Chapman’s sculptures, but three of the artworks (including Division II) are on loan to the Tate. The Tate staff explain that they have been informed that the statue contains a human bone. Becker is disbelieving. He tells his wife, Helena, and Sebastian about this seemingly outrageous claim; he is against disassembling the artwork, although this would be necessary to test the bone. Helena and Sebastian are more open to an investigation since it could lead to press and public attention for Fairburn; as Helena points out, Vanessa had a “notoriously unfaithful husband [who] went missing nearly twenty years ago […] his body never found” (15).

Helena suggests that Becker could go to consult Grace Haswell: She was Vanessa’s close friend and the executor of her will. Grace lives on the isolated island of Eris in Scotland. Helena thinks that Grace might know something about the sculpture and wants Becker to pressure her to hand over the last of Vanessa’s papers and effects (in her will, Vanessa unexpectedly left everything to Fairburn). Becker decides to go to visit Grace.

Becker researches Julian Chapman, Vanessa’s husband. He learns that by 2001, Julian and Vanessa were estranged, and Julian was preparing to remarry a woman named Celia Gray. Celia died in a car accident; six months later, in the summer of 2002, Julian went to visit Vanessa on the island of Eris, where she was living. He vanished there. Becker reads an interview in which Julian’s sister, Isabel, portrays Vanessa negatively.

The narrative then switches to an undated excerpt from Vanessa’s diary in which she describes feeling uncomfortable with a black painting she has just completed. Vanessa describes telling Julian not to come to see her and mentions a casual sexual encounter with a stranger, which was “very welcome.”

The narrative shifts to Grace’s perspective. She lives alone on the island of Eris: She has lived there for more than 20 years, and it has been five years since Vanessa died. Grace is the executor of Vanessa’s will, but she has been delaying sorting through the many papers and journals that Vanessa left when she died. Grace is resentful that Vanessa left her artistic legacy to Fairburn, and she does not like being pressured to go through the papers. Grace, however, is intrigued by the email she has received from Becker requesting to meet with her.

The narrative shifts to an entry from Vanessa’s diary in which she describes feeling bored and resentful after an art exhibition: “[T]he energy it takes to disguise my contempt could power a city” (25). It seems that she was unmoved by becoming more successful and suspected Julian of coveting the money she was earning.

In the narrative present, Becker drives toward Eris. He reflects on his anxieties about taking the trip and leaving Helena. He is partially nervous because Helena is seven months pregnant but also because he has ambivalent feelings about the friendship between Helena and Sebastian; Becker feels insecure about Sebastian, “who is tall and handsome and rich. Who had Helena first” (27). Sebastian and Helena were initially romantically involved and come from a similar upper-class background, while Becker has a more working-class background.

Another diary entry from Vanessa describes her feelings of boredom and discontent while she is still living in England (before she moved to Eris). At this point, she is aware that Julian is having an affair with Celia Gray and can’t decide to what extent this knowledge upsets her. She reflects, “[P]art of me wants him to go and never come back. Part of me wants to lock him in a room and never let him out” (30).

As Becker gets closer to Eris, he reflects on how he hopes to mend the relationship with Grace. When Vanessa died, it was a shock to everyone that she left her artistic estate to Douglas Lennox (Sebastian’s father). Douglas had once been Vanessa’s gallerist, but the two had a falling out and became bitter enemies. Douglas antagonized Grace, leading to the possibility of a lawsuit; however, Douglas died unexpectedly in a hunting accident. Proceedings have been largely stalled since then, with Sebastian taking over his father’s foundation and bringing Becker (an old friend and an expert on Vanessa’s art) on board. Becker thinks that if Grace is treated more deferentially, she might be more cooperative.

An entry from Vanessa’s diary describes her excitement upon learning that an entire island is available to purchase.

Eris can only be reached at certain times of day since high tides submerge the causeway leading to the island. While Becker waits to cross, he reviews materials related to Vanessa’s career. Her artworks were widely praised, but “she was described by a series of critics and interviewers as tricky, disagreeable, impatient, sullen, strident and single-minded” (37). The materials also clarify that Vanessa died in October 2016 and that the lawsuit between Vanessa and Douglas spanned from 2002 to 2004 before being settled out of court. The dispute was sparked because Vanessa abruptly canceled a solo exhibition at Douglas’s gallery.

Grace is startled when Becker arrives at her cottage on the island. She is also offended by the mention of the Fairburn Foundation and tells Becker to leave.

An entry in Vanessa’s diary describes her delighted reaction to visiting Eris for the first time.

As Grace tries to tell Becker to leave, he blurts out that he wants to ask her about the sculpture called Division II. He also makes it clear that he is an expert on Vanessa’s art, which softens Grace. Becker explains the contention that the bone in Division II might be human. Grace, who is a medical doctor, thinks the suggestion is outrageous: “[I]f Vanessa had been using human bones in her sculptures, do you not think I might have noticed?” (47)

Grace and Becker both agree that it would be terrible to damage the sculpture by testing the bone; Becker hopes that something in Vanessa’s papers might help to verify the bone’s origin. Grace is still confused, but it gradually dawns on her that people are especially suspicious about the bone because of Julian’s strange disappearance. She is outraged that people would think that Vanessa might somehow have been involved.

A diary entry from Vanessa describes how she first met Douglas Lennox by chance. They began a sexual relationship (although both were married), and she agreed to have his gallery represent her. Julian figured out that Vanessa and Douglas were involved and became very angry and jealous. By this point, Vanessa and Julian’s marriage is deteriorating rapidly, and she muses, “I have to leave because, if I don’t, I think I might kill him. Or he me” (52).

Becker leaves Grace’s cottage but decides to spend the night on the mainland. He chats with some of the pub staff and is surprised to find that they speak fondly about both Grace and Vanessa. As he later explains to Helena when they speak on the phone, “[S]he’s got this reputation for being cold and difficult and unfriendly, and yet the locals here […] have only good things to say about her” (56). Helena suggests that Vanessa may have been unfairly misrepresented and tells Becker to stay longer and continue to attempt to persuade Grace to speak with him.

Becker sends a heartfelt email to Grace, explaining that his mother loved art but had to work to support him as a single mother. He first became interested in Vanessa Chapman because his mother had a print of her paintings. Becker’s mother died when he was young, and he went on to study Vanessa’s art and eventually worked at an auction house.

Grace replies to the email the next day, telling Becker that he can come to visit her.

Becker returns to Grace’s cottage, and she is much warmer toward him. They agree that he can look at some of Vanessa’s journals and papers; Grace warns him that the documents are undated and somewhat disorganized. As Grace reminisces about Vanessa, she begins to tell the story of how the two women first met.