Thomas Schlesser and the Art of Art History

The Book Case

ABC News

Fiction, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.7 • 913 Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Thomas Schlesser is a French Art Historian whose new novel, Mona’s Eyes is a brilliant way of exploring the great museums of Paris. When Mona, his title character, is in danger of losing her sight, her grandfather, Henri, decides to show her one work of art a week for a year in the hopes that she can absorb all the beauty of the world before she goes blind. It is not just the touching story of a wonderful French girl and her grandfather visiting art, but also an amazing course in Art History. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Thomas will tell you the history and stories behind some of the world’s greatest. Join us as we talk to him about these fifty two works, his unforgettable characters and why it took him ten years to write. Find books mentioned on The Book Case: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/book-case-podcast-reading-list-118433302 Books mentioned on this week's episode: Mona’s Eyes by Thomas SchlesserLuminous Loves by Thomas Schlesser Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I'm John Quignores.
0:02.0	Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old soldier,
0:05.0	vanishes while on duty at an Army base in Texas.
0:09.0	Her family demands answers.
0:12.0	How can she go missing on a military base?
0:14.0	That's too ridiculous.
0:16.0	The search goes on for months.
0:19.0	Where is Vanessa? And a dark story starts to unfold.
0:25.6	She told her family that she was being sexually harassed
0:29.6	and wasn't reporting it out of fear of retribution and retaliation.
0:34.6	What investigators finally uncover is horrifying.
0:40.0	Find out how one soldier, a beloved sister and daughter, ignited a movement and sparked
0:46.5	a reckoning in the U.S. military.
0:50.0	Listen to Vanished.
0:51.7	What happened to Vanessa?
0:53.6	A new series from ABC Audio in 2020. Listen now,
0:58.1	wherever you get your podcasts.
1:08.5	Hello, book nerds. It's the Kate Gibson part of the Kate and Charlie Gibson team.
1:14.5	And I'm going to remind my father, because he hates it so much,
1:17.3	and sometimes I love getting under his skin,
1:19.6	that this is the last show of August,
1:22.6	which means we are rapidly approaching September and the end of summer.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from ABC News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of ABC News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.