All the Colour in the World: A Novel

The story of the restorative power of art in one man's life, set against the sweep of the twentieth century-from Toronto in the '20s and '30s, through the killing fields of World War II, to 1960s Sicily.

"Bold and resplendent. . . .  Leave it to CS Richardson to find a way to paint with words." -Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid

Henry, born 1916, thin-as-sticks, nearsighted, is an obsessive doodler-copying illustrations from his Boy's Own magazines. Left in the care of a nurturing, Shakespeare-quoting grandmother, eight-year-old Henry receives as a gift his first set of colouring pencils (and a pocket knife for the sharpening). As he commits these colours to memory-cadmium yellow; burnt ochre; deep scarlet red-a passion for art, colour, and the stories of the great artists takes hold, and becomes Henry's unique way of seeing the world. It is a passion that will both haunt and sustain him on his journey through the century: from boyhood dreams on a summer beach to the hothouse of art academia and a love cut short by tragedy; from the psychological wounds of war to the redemption of unexpected love.

Projected against a backdrop of iconic masterpieces-from the rich hues of the European masters to the technicolour magic of Hollywood-All the Colour in the World is Henry's story: part miscellany, part memory palace, exquisitely precise with the emotional sweep of a great modern romance.

"Bold and resplendent, yet reduced to a singular essence, All the Colour in the World is a unique style piece and a moving evocation of character. Leave it to CS Richardson to find a way to paint with words." -Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid

"In saturated hues, the clicking slide show of Henry's life reels through the carousel, flashes of brilliant images lending colour to the silvery grey-green backdrop of war in this thoughtful and beautiful book. Image after image flashes to form a kaleidoscope rendering of a fragile life-one that burns in the mind's eye for a long time." -Marina Endicott, author of The Difference

CS RICHARDSON's first novel, The End of the Alphabet, was an international bestseller, published in fourteen countries and ten languages, and won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Canada and the Caribbean). His second novel, The Emperor of Paris, was a national bestseller, named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year, and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. An award-winning book designer, CS Richardson worked in publishing for forty years. He is a multiple recipient of the Alcuin Award, Canada's highest honour for excellence in book design. He lives and writes in Toronto.