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As far as themes of academic discourse are concerned, "the impressionists" and "leisure in art and literature" are not uncommon as both have been acutely examined and written about by countless scholars. That said, what is unique about this book is that Todd (Celebrating the Impressionist Table; The Impressionists at Home ) weaves the two themes together to create a sort of visual history of the impressionists' role in and account of the "new" leisure society in France at the turn of the 19th century. The visual part of the story consists of impressionist paintings of French café and bar culture, swimmers, picnickers, theatergoers, dancers, boaters, and shoppers. The history part of the story comes from impressionists' personal archives, where Todd has apparently spent much time reading and translating countless letters, manuscripts, and related documents from the original French. So while Todd's overarching theme is not necessarily innovative, she unites famous and lesser-known impressionist and post-impressionist pictures and words to create a lovely and engaging history about the way the impressionists lived and painted the life of leisure. Recommended.-Jennifer H. Polluck, Yale Ctr. for British Art, New Haven, CTCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.