Seize the Passing Dream
A Novel of Whistler, His Women and His World

AS GENIUS AND LOVER, HE SCANDALIZED THE ART WORLD — THEN DEFINED AND DEFIED IT

Whistler's immortalized mother had to compete with her son's lacerating wit, notorious liaisons and celebrated feuds. He fought with Oscar Wilde and exasperated Edgar Degas but befriended Toulouse-Lautrec. Although his studio was always crowded with models, he was not a model gentleman. In this award-winning biographical novel, Ted Berkman probes the inner struggles of a master artist who, like his dreamy Nocturnes of the Thames, grows in stature as he recedes in time.

Read a few excerpts now.

"Mr. Berkman is dealing with one of the yeastier stages of modern cultural history, and he communicates a sense of its excitement and ferment."
New York Times, Sunday Book Section

"A many-splendored delight. This panoramic portrait does far more for Whistler than Irving Stone's Lust for Life did for Van Gogh."
St. Louis Globe-Democrat

A fascinating story, very well written. This is must reading.
Sheilah Graham
United Features Syndicate

By some mysterious alchemy, Mr. Berkman has caught both man and artist, pinned them down like the butterfly which was Whistler's signature.
Sallie C. Lampee, Sacramento Union

There's wit here, and art — a story that will haunt you, about a man you will not forget.
Cleveland Amory

Wonderfully written, the type of book you do not wish to put down. Ted Berkman has convincingly captured the era, the styles of the individuals portrayed, and while it is obviously largely a fictional reconstruction, it reads like a very convincing observation.
Richard H. Randall, Jr.
Director, the Walters Art Gallery
Baltimore (Md.)

Mr. Berkman has created a triumph. He sets the stage brilliantly in his Prologue. The complexities of Whistler's life are richly handled. The man behind the public mask emerges through Berkman's careful detailing and truly brilliant characterization. So few fictionalized biographies successfully wed fact with believable dialogue. Mr. Berkman's years of research have paid off.
Pomona (CA) Progress-Bulletin

"The man who lives in these pages is by turns vengeful or petty, or passionately loving and generous. And over the man towers the artist. By some mysterious alchemy, Mr. Berkman has caught them both, pinned them down like the butterfly which was Whistler's signature."
The Sacramento Union

Ted Berkman's rich writing background also includes Cast A Giant Shadow, the story of Colonel Mickey Marcus, Sabra, the story of the Six-Day War, The Lady and the Law, a biography of Fanny Holtzmann, and films such as "Fear Strikes Out," "Girl of the Night" and "Bedtime for Bonzo." Now available is his memoir: Around the World in 80 Years: Newsrooms, Sound Stages, Private Encounters and Public Affairs.

Read more about Ted Berkman.