Maud Marian, artist: or, The Studio Mariano

"Maud Marian, artist" by Eglanton Thorne is a novel written in the late 19th century. It centers on a wealthy, headstrong young painter, Maud Marian, who pursues artistic fame in Rome while her gentler cousin Enid Mildmay navigates the city’s expatriate circles, exposing a contrast between ambition and duty. Set among studios, salons, and Roman ruins, the story promises romance and moral testing through figures like earnest Sidney Althorp, charming Julius Dakin, and the unvarnished critiques of working artists.

The opening of the novel shows Maud bristling at her aunt’s marriage and pressing her father to let her return to Rome for “Art,” despite his wish for her companionship and Sidney Althorp’s quiet appeal to duty; he yields, on condition she travel with a companion, and Enid Mildmay is invited. In Devonport, Enid’s practical family weighs the offer; her delicate mother encourages the chance for beauty, language, and training, and Enid departs, torn but elated. Arriving in Rome, Enid slips off to the Colosseum, impulsively strikes up a conversation with Julius Dakin, and then watches Maud secure and lavishly outfit a showpiece “Studio Mariano.” At the Pincio Enid recognizes Julius as Maud’s friend yet hides their earlier meeting; during the studio’s inaugural tea, the famed Herr Schmitz bluntly demolishes Maud’s work while praising Enid’s modest still life, sparking hurt and a brief quarrel between the cousins. Enid forges new ties—lessons with the lovely Adela Ravani and a warm friendship with the solitary painter Miss Strutt—while Julius’s attentions (flowers, visits) and Maud’s pride set the stage for the social and artistic entanglements to come.