title: The Bridal Chair: A Novel
author:  Gloria Goldreich 
description: "Only Gloria Goldreich could write a novel so grounded in historical truths yet so exuberantly imaginative. THE BRIDAL CHAIR is Goldreich at her best, with a mesmerizing plot, elegant images, and a remarkable heroine who shines through the whole. Ida Chagall will remain with you long after you've read the last page of her story. And her father's art will never seem the same." - <strong><em> Francine Klagsbrun, acclaimed author and columnist for Jewish Week</em></strong><br /><br />"In prose as painterly and evocative as Chagall's own dazzling brush strokes, Gloria Goldreich finely evokes the days and nights of one of the most significant masters of modern art. Through the discerning eyes of Ida, Chagall's loyally protective daughter, we see his peril as a Jew in Nazi-overrun Europe, his heated competitiveness, his contentiousness as husband and father, his consuming immersion in his work. Here is history as story-telling, and story-telling as intimate portraiture, as poignant and arresting as Chagall's own airborne and dreamlike figures; and here also is a question to tantalize readers: Must the artist's character match the enchantments of his art?" - <strong><em> Cynthia Ozick, award-winning author of Foreign Bodies</em></strong><br /><br />"An ambitious work by a talented author... It is a story of quiet power and provides a fascinating look into the dynamics of a family. This is Goldreich at her best!" - <strong><em> RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars</em></strong><br /><br />"Goldreich's portrait of a major artist and his daughter is fascinating." - <strong><em> Booklist</em></strong><br /><br />"Filled with fascinating details about the art world and colorful real-life characters, this novel may appeal to historical fiction fans who enjoyed Natasha Solomons's The House at Tyneford and Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key." - <strong><em> Library Journal</em></strong>
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  # FOURTEEN
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Alice Gerstenberg
  
  
  This page copyright © 2002 Munsey's.
  
  
  http://www.munseys.com
  
  
  CHARACTERS
  
  
  
  
  
  MRS. HORACE PRINGLE: _A woman of
  
  
  fashion._
  
  
  ELAINE: _Her debutante daughter._
  
  
  
  
  
  DUNHAM: _The butler or maid._
  
  
  
  
  
  _[SCENE: The dining-room of a New York residence. A
  
  
  long table running from left to right, with a chair at each end and
  
  
  six chairs on each side, is set elaborately for fourteen. DUNHAM, the
  
  
  butler, is hovering over the table to give it a few finishing touches
  
  
  as MRS. PRINGLE comes in. She is a woman of fashion, handsome, and
  
  
  wears a very lovely evening gown. She is rather excitable in
  
  
  temperament but withal capable and executive, vivacious and humorously
  
  
  charming. She enters in haste carrying a corsage bouquet of flowers
  
  
  and the empty box of paper from which she has unwrapped them.]_
  
  
    
  **MRS. PRINGLE:** Dunham, I've just had word from Mr. Harper
  
  
  that he was called away t