L'Origine is the winner of seven literary awards, including the Publishers Weekly 2021 US Selfies Book Award

First Place IndieReader Discovery Award for Best Adult Fiction

Winner Publishers Weekly 2021 Selfies Book Award

Book Readers Appreciation Group

Foreword Reviews Silver Medal for Historical Fiction

America's Next Great Author
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Reviews of L'Origine
“In recounting the secret history of L’Origine, Lilianne Milgrom offers us an entertaining, provocative read which will continue to intrigue us and invite speculation, long after we have turned the last page.”
California Review of Books
“What a gorgeous, captivating novel: a tour de force! Who knew that a painting’s provenance could make for such a profoundly moving and thought-provoking page-turner; I couldn’t read fast enough and at the same time didn’t want to reach the end. Lilianne Milgrom has written a masterpiece worthy of the iconic Gustave Courbet painting that lies at the heart of L’Origine.”
Joan Dempsey, Author of the award-winning novel, "This Is How It Begins."
“L’Origine got me hooked - what a story! Milgrom brings the reader right along with her on her adventures as the copyist of one of the most well-known paintings in all of France and maybe even the world. It's not one more of these books about people coming to France and fixing up an old farmhouse.... ”
Harriet Welty Rochefort, Author of "French Fried, "French Toast", and "Joie de Vivre"
“L’Origine is, indeed, an apt title for Lilianne Milgrom’s debut novel, since it is the painting itself—L’Origine du Monde—that is the heroine of this vividly-written, well-researched, and highly compelling book. Part historical fiction, part personal journey, L’Origine tells the story of “the world’s most erotic masterpiece” and its effect on those who tried to capture it, in one way or another—including Milgrom herself. The notorious little painting is, above all, a survivor. Its page-turning odyssey, told in richly textured prose, is an original story well-worth reading.”
Barbara Linn Probst, award-winning author of “Queen of the Owls: A Novel”
“A captivating historical fiction based on Gustave Courbet’s painting L’Origine du monde (1866), following the personal and intimate journeys of its successive illustrious owners and dealers, against the background of the Franco-Prussian war, WW1, and WW2 respectively. The author’s encounter with this same painting at the Musée d’ Orsay in Paris 150 years later, while becoming the first copyist of the painting in 2011, sparked the reconstructed narratives presented in this book. From the proximity to the scandalous piece, Milgrom composes a realist allegory of the life of a very special painting”
Stephanie Jeanjean (PhD), New York-based French art historian, curator, translator
“Brilliantly writ. Not over-wrought. Nice dialogue. Insightful personality descriptions. Merci for a fine novel."
Kerry Feldman. Author of Alice's Trading Post
"I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this book. Everything about it is wonderful - the calibre of writing, the historical story, the modern autobiographical elements - all entirely gripping. I couldn't put it down."