Born in London, J. R. Thornton graduated from Harvard College in 2014 where he studied history, English, and Chinese. An internationally ranked junior tennis player, he competed for Harvard and on the professional circuit. He was a member of the inaugural class of Schwarzman Scholars, obtaining an M.A. from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He now lives in Italy, working for AC Milan. Lucien is his second novel.
At CrimeReads Thornton tagged five books "on forgers and conmen—on trauma and personality disorders—on imposters and fantasists." One title on the list:
Jonathan Lopez, The Man Who Made VermeersRead about another entry on Thornton's list.
Han van Meegeren is perhaps the most fascinating art forger in history: a mediocre Dutch painter who, stung by critical rejection, spent years perfectinga technique for faking Vermeer, then sold his masterwork to Hermann Göring during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. After the war, when he was charged with collaboration for selling a national treasure to the enemy, he revealed the truth—he had fooled Göring with a fake.
The authorities refused to believe him until he sensationally proved his story by painting a new Vermeer in his cell. Widely castigated as a traitor and pariah, the act transformed van Meegeren into a national hero, suddenly adored by the Dutch public for his cunning trickery of the Nazis.
Lopez’s biography is a nuanced, deeply researched account of a man whose story raises genuinely uncomfortable questions about authenticity, taste, and the nature of artistic value. If a forgery is indistinguishable from the real thing, what exactly is the crime?
--Marshal Zeringue
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