The Colour Storm

Discover the 2023 Winner of the Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown Award – an atmospheric and suspenseful tale of intoxicating art and dizzying ambition, forbidden love and twisted obsession in Renaissance Venice – Damian Dibben's kaleidescopic The Colour Storm

'A glorious, exuberant read' THE TIMES
'Addictive, ambitious and knife sharp. A compelling thriller and a celebration of art. Ravishing' RACHEL JOYCE
'A rich and rousing tale of art, love, rivalry and obsession in Renaissance Venice' CHLOËASHBY, AUTHOR OF WET PAINT
'An engaging thriller and a compelling exploration of an artist's obsession with love and colour'
SUNDAY TIMES
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Venice, 1510.

The world's greatest artists gather to enjoy fame, fortune, and colour. When a wealthy merchant discovers a mysterious new pigment, he knows it would create a masterpiece in the right hands.

For struggling artist Giorgione 'Zorzo' Barbarelli, success is far from reach. Until he's commissioned by the merchant to paint a portrait of his wife, Sybille.

Impress him, and Zorzo could acquire the most coveted colour in the world - and write his name in history.

But it is Sybille whose eye he catches. And when their relationship drags Zorzo into a conspiracy spanning the entire continent, it is far more than his career in danger . . .
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'Art and ambition, love and obsession all come into play in this compelling and spellbinding tale set in Renaissance Venice' STYLIST

'An intoxicating story about an incredible period in history' THE SUN

'A terrific book . . . Absorbing, exciting and, dare I say it, colourful. An original tale told beautifully'
A. D. SWANSTON

'Hugely evocative, it's a love story, it's a thriller, it's a fantastic page turner' SOPHIE HAYDOCK, AUTHOR OF THE FLAMES

'An alluring Renaissance mystery of rivalry in love and art, where the gothic dank darkness of Venice is steeped in dreams of exquisite colour'
ESSIE FOX

Read this extraordinary, award-winning tale of colour, art, life, love and dangerous obsession now.

Praise for Damian Dibben

'An epic tale of love, of courage, of hope'Evening Standard

'I was captivated from the beginning' Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

'Original, ambitious, moving' Stylist

'Bask in the brilliance' The Mail on Sunday